Tainted (Revised Edition)
by fuuko no miko
Summary: Love story. Sexy Smut. Adventures in the Warp. Experience it all with Magnus the Red and his unlikely accomplice.
1. A Woman From Prospero

Tainted

by Fuuko no Miko

Chapter 1

A Woman From Prospero

 _ **Author Notes:**_

 _ ***deep breath***_

 _ **Alright, here goes. My first attempt at writing something for W40k. I would like to let you readers know this is my first foray into this fandom. I've only been into it the last few months. I'm not even done reading my first Warhammer novel, A Thousand Sons. Buuuuttt...I do love Magnus the Red. He's my favorite primarch...and I read a lot of Wiki articles. When this idea started in my head it was supposed to be a one-shot smut fic with no plot to speak of (Because why not? The Crimson King needs to get some, dang it!) But because my friend *coughcoughTheNewMandalordcoughcough* started putting ideas in my head it now evolved into a multi-chapter-goodness-knows-what. Make no mistake, there will be adult scenes (because that's all I've been reduced to doing these days...not that I'm at all apologetic about it!) but that comes by chapters 2 and 3 and...maybe even the epilogue.**_

 _ **I did run this by The New Mandalord since he's the W40k aficionado (aka nerd). It's been extensively edited/corrected by him and some lines were written by him as well (maybe 2% of the fic, 98% is me). Any mistakes in lore should be his burden to shoulder, HA HA HA HA HA. But seriously, any mistakes will be willingly accepted by myself. Constructive reviews and criticisms are welcome, pointless trolling is not.**_

 _ **The OC in this fic is the first major one I have created also. In my 16 years of writing for FFN my OCs are purely side characters. So I hope she isn't too over-the-top. Her name is also an actual first name of someone I know from decades ago.**_

 _ **Anyway, without further ado, I humbly present my fic for your consideration. Kindly read and review!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Warhammer 40k and everything associated with it, is property of Games Workshop.** _

_**12/11/16**_

 _ **1211 pm**_

* * *

In single file they boarded, slowly, dragging their belongings with them, their faces in clear awe of the vehicle that was merely a means of transportation to their main destination.

"It's just a Thunderhawk." one of their escorts said as he motioned to where they should put their things, seeming as unimpressed as the new passengers.

 _ **Amazing**_. That was the main consensus among the twelve people who loaded in it, taking their respective seats and ogling in wonder at this powerful machine that shifted from land to air to space travel.

"Please remain seated until you arrive at the Scion of Battle." one servitor in its scripted, robotic speech. He assisted her on the proper application of the Gravity Harness that hold the occupants of the ship.

Karimah Tahrik smiled at the mindless cybernetic drone. "I can't wait."

Not everyone on board was a complete ingenue to space travel, of course. However that did not deter them from appreciating their newfound surroundings.

"Ready for launch."

The Space Marines escorting them to the main battleship were efficient, getting them settled in rapidly and then taking their own spots in this majestic warmachine that looked relatively empty now, having mostly regular-sized humans in it, instead of the normal thirty Adeptus Astartes in full power armor that it hosts. They looked like a handful of beans in a cookie jar.

She looked out a small window, staring at the place she called home for the last few decades. She was going to have to say goodbye. For now. Perhaps forever. She could see the towers of the libraries she had served and researched for the past years, the observatory where she would sit in the enclaves and watch the skies for ships that entered orbit, the Scholas where she studied, taught, and met Kallista Eris who had mentioned this expedition to her.

She had gone through what was like an audition to get here, showing her credentials and proving that she was an asset instead of a liability.

Maybe she wouldn't have gone through the ringer as tightly if she had mentioned to the that she was a psyker...a psyker and the daughter of a nobleman who was far more gifted and influential than she was.

But...given that she was on Terra, they may have not welcomed that fact.

This was going to be interesting.

They launched, much smoother than she had thought and soon the brown-green haze of Terra was being replaced by the constant darkness of space. She gazed in wonder as Terra shrank, and the black velvet of space embraced them. She smiled, in bittersweet memory as her last voyage outside was a little less grandiose, a bit more chaotic, and one she thinks she may have taken for granted.

She took out a pad and stylus and started writing.

Several hours passed rather quick, as the overhead Vox announced their arrival to the Scion of Prospero.

Her anticipation was not without Battle Barge of the Thousand Sons Legion was nothing less than breathtaking. A mighty giant of alloy, adamantium and hardened plasteel, it was an engineering masterpiece of warfare. It could easily dwarf a small planet, and host several Terran cities in it should it choose to. Their Thunderhawk was allowed entry at a point barely noticeable from the outside and they entered a dock that was as busy as any major city block...that is...if that city block was in the center of a military operation. Their vehicle settled at a small area designated for them in the middle of the organized chaos. The chattering buzz of people, the clinking of metal, the noise of engines and machineries drifted into their spacecraft the minute the doors opened and they were released unto the dock. One of the servitors motioned for them to follow them to the interiors of the bigger ship.

Their jaws dropped at the visually intensive sight before them. The battle barge interior was like another world in itself, the ceilings as high as the skyscrapers that lined up the streets of Terra, multiple floors of nonstop animated activity surrounding them. Weapons were being loaded. Rhinos being cleaned of blood and debris. Thunderhawks were being prepared for deployment.

"We don't have all day." one of the Adeptus Astartes nudged her fellow Remembrancer, encouraging her also to move along the ramp that led out of the ship as they awkwardly gaped at the sight before them. She hurriedly followed him, and the others, trying to remember which officer she was supposed to be " _stalking and being an annoyance to,_ " one of the Primarchs was rumored stating. " _If they want to be in on the action, then they should be armed and prepared to take battle._ " The Wolf King, Leman Russ, had said. Not that she would have minded. She would have even volunteered to train under Primarch Russ personally if she would be allowed to wield the majestic and powerful bolter.

That, and he was easy on the eyes too. Ruggedly handsome and tough and strong and...

She could go on and on. But that would take all day. And like the Astartes said, they don't have that.

They walked for a good distance in between hordes of workers, tech-adepts, servitors and even Space Marines. They were finally led into a large, quieter hallway where they awaited for the next event. This appeared to be control room, brimming with consoles, switches, levers and a million little things she could likely name more than half of and operate none. The space marines were busy preparing as they went about their way. A handful of them, neophytes from what she could tell, escorted her fellow Remembrancers to their quarters where they could place their belongings without being a nuisance to everyone else.

"Impressive." she murmured as she tried to find a spot to dump her ridiculous number of books, journals, data-slates and sketch pads. She would've whistled in awe but deemed it inappropriate. The Thousand Sons marines looked like a serious lot, and her gestures may be a sign of disrespect and earn her a cold spot in the galley.

 _Maybe I should've signed up for the Space Wolves,_ she mused as she took more notes on her journal.

She walked around, observing the inner workings of an imperium ship. Her fellow Remembrancers were out and about, assigned specific officers to follow. She was told to accompany the Scouts, led by veteran Sgt. Tam'er Faht-hi who she has yet to meet. As much as she had studied the Thousand Sons, distinguishing one officer from another when they were scurrying about in their armor was no easy task. She was envious of Kallista who gets to be around the more fascinating, higher-ranking members of the legion, and Mahavastu Kallimakus who was the personal scribe of the very Primarch Magnus the Red. Alas she had half their clout and experience, even as impressive as her resume already was.

The one plus of this assignment however, the very purpose of why she had fought so hard to be here, was that she got a chance to return home.

Home to Prospero.

Back to the family she had insurreptitiously left many moons ago when she had eloped to Terra with the brave and gallant Marcus Aviola, a young nobleman who served in the Imperial Army and had been to Prospero as part of an entourage. Oh but his sweet, flowery words swayed her naivete and innocence and led her to take off with him but a month of their meeting, leaving her very dissapointed parents behind, and her older brother, who at that time was still in the peak of his health.

Things were different now of course.

"Aren't we an eager beaver?" a voice from behind her spoke. The fact that it used to be an old saying from Terra based on a long extinct rodent did not go amiss. She turned about, a smile lighting up her dusky skinned features. "You don't have to record everything right away."

"Sergeant Faht-hi?" she greeted with a handshake. "Karimah Tahrik- historian, linguist, writer, and all-around nuisance."

He laughed warmly. "Don't let Primarch Russ get to you. That's him on a good day."

The sergeant made a visual inventory of the young woman before him. She was rather tall, close to six feet by his approximation. She had long, lustrous black hair that reached down to her waist, neatly tucked in a braid. She had olive skin and lively amber-hued eyes. On her neck was a fine gold necklace, with a ruby pendant of a seven pointed star covered by inverted horns. It was the family sigil of one of the noble houses in Prospero.

"Are you by chance Prosperan by blood?"

"I am." she acknowledged. "My father is Galil Tahrik, a nobleman and scribe in Tizca."

"You don't say?" he inquired as he tried to place the name in his head. "How did you end up in Terra?"

But before she could answer the veteran sergeant they were interrupted by the arrival of Ahzek Ahriman, Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons. He had all gathered the Remembrancers and set forth rules that governed the ship. What they can do, where they should not go, and who they are not allowed to interrupt. The civilian guests nodded in acknowledgement, as then Primarch Magnus the Red arrived to welcome them.

"Impressive as well." she murmured to herself, then clumsily realizing the Primarch could probably hear her anyway. She had done her own research of the Crimson King and knew of him when she was in Prospero, but the words on paper did the man no justice. As with all Primarchs of the Imperium he was physically imposing, towering above everyone else in stature and bulk. He appeared grandiose in his golden armor, surrounded by a pair of horns on both his head and chest piece. His robes flowed almost ethereally, and a book was chained to his waist. His arms were like tree trunks, and his red mane flowed like a sea of fire, he had one eye on the left, a smooth scar on the right where his other eye would have been. He exuded authority, confidence and intelligence.

 _Damn lucky Mahavastu_ , she thought as she mentally sighed. She had found the Imperium's primarchs to be a very interesting lot, their legions even moreso. How different they were in their capabilities and characteristics, and yet here they were united under the Emperor's banner to make the galaxy a solid unit. A noble cause indeed.

She looked at her sketchpad and began making a doodle of Magnus the Red on it as she half-listened to more of Ahriman's rules.

"When the invasion begins, I expect you to be all eyes and all ears. You are to touch nothing on the ship's control panels. You are not to panic. You are to stay by your escort's side always. And most importantly you are not to become a hindrance to our mission."

 _Did he say invasion?_

She looked up from her pad and that very moment, caught the single, glimmering eye of Magnus the Red, seemingly glaring at her for not paying full attention.

Or not.

For as quick as that was, he had glanced away.

Somehow, she forgets that she is surrounded by an army of mind-reading psykers, one of which is second only in power to the Emperor of Mankind.

Ahriman did really say invasion. In 48 hours. A Xenos planet of relatively primitive technology but of a good amount of natural resources that they can use to build armor, ships and whatever else the Adeptus Mechanicus can make use of. They had sent a surveillance team to scour the area, receiving reports of how well this place would serve them with its innumerable mines and quarries.

That team was never heard from again after violent screams were heard over whatever was left of the Vox.

The decision was then made to take over this small but metal-rich world.

 _Well isn't this just the excitement you're looking for?_ Karimah asked herself as they were dispersed. She knew what she was signing up for. She was a mixture of excitement and trepidation as she made her way back to the officer she was speaking to, then realizing Sgt Faht-hi had gone to brief his neophytes on the plans. She was going to have to talk to him at least a few hours before all hell broke loose.

"You are from Prospero, yes?" She turned to see the imposing figure before her, Captain Ahzek Ahriman. He sounded more like he was stating a fact than asking her for it.

"Yes, My Lord." she replied. "I was born in Prospero and had left when I was younger. But now I seek to embark on some adventures and perhaps visit my family."

He tilted his head. "This isn't a cruise you know."

She smiled. "I know what I am in for, sir. I don't just jump in the sea without acknowledging there are sharks in it...and maybe even a Kraken."

He seemed to like that answer. She can sense him smiling behind his helmet. "You are a psyker then?" Once again that sounded more of a statement than a question.

"Nowhere near as good as you sir." she answered, to which he laughed out loud.

"I like you already." he chuckled as he dismissed her with a gesture. "It is good to have a proper Prosperan to document a new culture she is actually interested in." he said, turning his gaze on her colleagues. "Show these pompous Terrans that they are not the only ones gifted in the histories arts and sciences." he paused before adding. "Find some comfort where you can, Karimah Tahrik. Welcome to the Thousand Sons legion."

"Thank you, sir."

Magnus the Red stood before the dark enclosure that was his quarters. Behind him was his bed and a large selection of ancient books, journals and scrolls he had always kept with him. Outside was the vast, pitch black of space, littered with countless stars and planets. One of which they will be landing on soon, and conquering in the name of his father, the Emperor of Mankind. He was meeting his brother Lorgar and his Word Bearers at said planet. He thought at first silly that it needed two legions to take over such a small planetary empire, consisting of nothing more than the main planet, neighboring four moons, and only one other planetoid, but Lorgar had mentioned that this world had emanated an unusual energy. The kind he, Magnus, found very intriguing to say the least. He doesn't know what Lorgar wanted from it, but knowing his brother he's probably just looking for a new place to preach their Father's name. Whether they would understand his gibberish was a different matter altogether.

"Shall we send the initiates first, Father?"

"Yes." he replied without turning around to acknowledge his most gifted Astartes. "But make sure the back-up is not too far behind. Being primitive does not mean they are stupid." he remarked. "Tenacity and determination can sometimes overpower the most advanced of forces. Plus, they are at an advantage in that they are more familiar with the terrain. As you recall the last team we sent was unable to give us a clear picture."

"I can send another advance party for surveillance."

"By all means." he responded. "But let's not keep this too long. Small, less advanced planets should not use up all our time and resources. Especially if the gain is not commensurate with our loss."

"Or you just don't want to listen to any more of your brother's zealot speeches."

"That too." he chuckled. "I love my brother but some days one can only take small doses at a time."

"His minions are worse, in my opinion."

"I'm sure they think the same way of us." Magnus laughed.

The Captain laughed as well. They were silent for a short while before he spoke again. "Our current roster of Remembrancers hold a fair number of psykers, Father."

"I know." he paused before adding. "They will be put to better use than what they were sent here for, once we determine their capabilities."

"Would you like me to put them to a test in the battlefield? Or in less vital areas, away from the front, perhaps?"

"Easy." Magnus reminded him. "In due time their talents will arise. Perhaps we can even recruit some of them to our ranks. Become a part of history instead of just writing and recording it."

"We can be the Thousand and One Sons."

"Are you assuming only one of them will survive augmentation?" Magnus inquired. "We have to be a little more optimistic than that. And less literal. We can't be changing our name every time we get new Astartes."

"How about Thousand Children?"

"They may mistake us for Fulgrim's Lot. I would rather not." he smiled amusedly. He then dismissed Ahriman with a motion of his hand. "All this excitement is giving you strange ideas. Rest. Tomorrow we have a crusade to launch."

"A good night's rest, my Lord."

"As to you."

When his chief librarian had left, Magnus started to change into his sleeping attire. His thoughts were at the last topic of their conversation. He had sensed the presence of potentially talented Psykers in the Remembrancers' lot. He would have to choose wisely on who to train them to bring out their best abilities. No sense in wasting these gifts.

That woman.

The Remembrancer who said she was originally from Prospero. She caught his eye for but a moment. Why would a psyker who lived in a planet of her own kind take off and settle in the phobic reaches of Terra was a puzzle.

Now he was curious.

Of course, he could just delve in the recesses of her subconscious to find out why.

But where's the fun in that?

Without a second thought he settled for the night. In the next few hours he was to meet with Lorgar Aurelian to map out the final attack before they commence.

"You know, for psykers we would have thought we'd see this coming."

"Nobody's perfect."

Veteran Scout Sergeant Faht-hi moved from his hiding spot behind the Rhino to take several shots at the oncoming horde of misshapen, purple monstrosities. They appeared to be bipedal insects. Heads and eyes like that of a horsefly attached to a humanoid body, their arms long and disproportionate, their legs hairy as those of a spider's, and moved just as quickly as if they had eight of them. They were fast, and they were heavily armed. For the sergeant, he could not reload his bolter fast enough. He barked out orders to his men, hoping against hope that they could hear him through the loud buzzing sound emanating from these creatures as they approached the severely outnumbered scouts and Remembrancers. There was about two dozen of them that unloaded from the Rhino and their numbers were dwindling fast.

"What are they?" one of the scouts sitting next to Karimah asked loudly as he took his turn to blast these vile creatures. Karimah flinched as a spatter of their aquamarine blood hit her on the face.

"Mmm...bitter. Not my cup of tea." she remarked as she spat out what landed on her tongue. "They're called Aswang." she had to raise her voice to be heard amidst the ear-piercing noise. "They're not very technologically advanced, very rudimentary actually. Not even having anything like a Vox. But they seem to know what to strike...where to intercept...like some collective hive-mind intellective of the species!"

"I thought they were cleaned out." one other scout barked as he loaded his bolt pistol.

"If I remember correctly, this might be their back-up army." She took her turn and started blasting with her plasma pistol. She wasn't the greatest marksman but knew enough to keep herself alive. "We may have stumbled upon their hibernation chambers. Once the active ones take to battle and their numbers get to a critical point they trigger these soldiers to awaken." She covered her ears as a blast from the Rhino fired into the center of the seemingly unending swarm, creating a hole in the ground and spreading insectoid parts all over the battlefield. The ground was getting sticky from the blanket of flowing xeno blood. "Or we could have triggered them ourselves...secret levers, touching things we shouldn't have. Who knows?"

"And we didn't get this information from the intelligence?" another scout remarked as he tapped on his communicator, cussing and frustrated that all he could hear was interference.

"The area where they are coming from looked like a mausoleum on the surface. " she remarked, narrowly dodging an Aswang hand that landed by her feet. "I suspect it may have looked like a graveyard but is actually some kind of underground base where they keep these soldiers in a dormant state...everything sealed to make them appear dead when they're actually just sleeping and waiting for the call of duty."

"I think you missed your calling. You should have been in the Magos Biologis." Sgt. Faht-hi chided as he signaled for the Rhino bolter to prepare firing again.

"I picked up a good time not to fall asleep during the lecture on different Xeno cultures." she joked.

"Did anyone respond to our Vox-signal for help yet?"

"Negative, Sergeant." one scout responded. "I think the enemy buzzing is distorting our signal!"

"Keep trying! Where are the other Remembrancers?"

"We have two or three hiding in the Rhino. The rest are out in the field with their escorts!"

"Maybe you should go in there." the veteran turned to her as she released the hot vapors of her weapon. He's still a bit surprised she stepped up to the plate earlier when the Xeno army appeared. He figured she would be hiding with the rest of their civilian crew.

"And miss all this fun?" she stood up and started firing again. This time one insectoid exploded within two feet of her and splashed her with its organs. "It appears I may be needing a shower after this."

A humming sound in the distance caught their attention. Louder. Louder. Closer it seemed to be getting. One scout cussed under his breath, his eyes bulging at the source of the noise. Karimah turned to where he was staring at, and witnessed a swarm. A small swarm of the Xenos scum. Unlike their ground attackers these creatures were pitch black, their heads more beetle-like, their bodies were bulkier and leathery, having metallic claws on where their hands and feet should be.

They had wings.

They were coming this way.

The flying beasts seemed to dodge and ignore the oncoming fire from the exposed humans on purpose and made for the Rhino. They surrounded it as the space marines fired aggressively at them, making sure not to hit their transport vehicle. The bolts ricocheted off their leathery chiton skin, and it took several powerful direct rounds to merely wound them. That did not deter them from collectively gripping the pintle-mounted Storm bolter-yanking, lifting, pulling.

"FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!" Sgt. Faht-hi screamed at the top of his lungs, ordering his men in the vehicle to blast the wretched creatures that clung on to their largest weapon. Alas the Aswang successfully ripped the mounted bolter along with the roof of the Rhino, peeling it like a can of sardines and taking along with it the two space marines who served as driver and as operator. Their cries of horror echoed above the buzzing noise as the winged Xenos tore through their armor.

Karimah turned her head away from the gruesome site as she watched the veteran call in his Vox for help again. He motioned for them to take cover amongst debris of buildings that had fallen. They made haste, firing their way through the Aswang that followed them. Fortunately the Scouts had made a signifcant dent in the number of the attacking xenos but there seems to be another batch marching out from the underground hideout. They were able to duck behind the collapsed walls of a building that gave in during the first waves of the assault. The upper levels of it had caved in, along with the roof and were now littering the floors. The individual blocks that made the walls were larger than a Thunderhawk and the pillars were as high as Reaver Battle Titans. It was a good hiding spot, at least temporarily.

There were seven of them altogether, three Remembrancers and four Space Marine Scouts, huddled and concealed them from enemy view.

"We need a plan. Fast." Sgt Faht-hi murmured. "I hope those bugs can't smell us."

It was the fourth day of fighting. This city was the heart of the planetary defense and the first casualty of the attacking Imperium forces. Magnus and Lorgar had convened to overwhelm them with force with a Lightning Raid. Scouts were sent in, cutting communication lines and supplies to the area and placing drop pod and Teleport Homing Beacons. Thunderhawks deployed the attack vehicles as Battle Brothers were sent through drop pods in the middle of the frey. The Aswang were completely caught off guard, as their defense system was not sophisticated enough to pick up the rapid arrival of the Imperium ships. What they lacked in technology, however, they made up for in numbers. A literal swarm of creatures that fused insect and human in a ghastly experimentation set forth an attack that darkened the very skies. They were fearless. They were unrelenting. But they were no match for the Imperium of Man. The Thunderhawks wiped the ground forces while the combined might of the fleet's Battle Barges, the _Scion of Prospero_ and _Fidelitas Lex_ , gained superiority over space and air, sweeping the skies of Aswang drones. The Terminators were released to seek and eliminate their military command before annhilating the rest of their army.

The Primarchs had geographically split the planet in two, as most of it was terrain and not as much water. Once the North where the military stronghold was located was completely eradicated, Lorgar and his Word Bearers took to the Western Hemisphere, as Magnus took his legion to the East. They were to meet in the less populous Southern region once most the planet was successfully overrun.

As the Thousand Sons and Word Bearers took apart the Aswang micro-empire, they had left no survivors in their wake.

The Remembrances were brought here, to the tip of the North where it meets the Eastern borders, to study and document the alien architecture and record the glorious achievements of the Imperium. Karimah jotted down notes and made sketches as Sgt. Faht-hi was close by. She was fascinated with the size and beauty of the landscape structures, even as they had fallen in ruin from the battle. The buildings were carved out of rocks taken from the quarries and placed in interesting albeit haphazard patterns. No two were alike.

The other Remembrances took images, gathered scrolls, books and artifacts. Primarch Magnus had made sure to remind them that any item that may impart knowledge be taken and preserved. They were several hours into their mission when the awakened Aswang army started to unearth in another part of the complex they were in. Luckily one of the scouts had seen it and able to alert them for cover.

Now they found themselves here, in the middle of ruins surrounded by an angry army of humanoid insects with nowhere to run.

Sgt. Faht-hi spoke up, as his two other men kept unsuccessfully trying to use the vox for back-up. "These walls are distorting our signal." he motioned to point to an elevated clearing a hundred yards away. "See that? I think we would have a better chance to radio from there."

"But sergeant the enemy will see us if we go out in the open."

"Not all of us have to go." he murmured. He turned to the group. "I'm going to need cover."

"I'm coming with you." Karimah volunteered.

"You're a civilian."

"Exactly." she reasoned. "You boys would be more useful in the battlefield than me." she stood up and dusted off. "Let's go, Sergeant."

Hesitantly he took her on as they made a mad dash for the clearing. They have gone about twenty yards from their hiding spot when one of the insectoids spotted them. Motioning to the rest of the squad of around three dozen, they followed the two humans running.

Karimah stopped within ten feet of the clearing.

"Hey!"

"Don't mind me, Sergeant!" she yelled out. "Get help!"

No sooner had she said that when a handful of enemy soldiers pounced at her. Sgt. Faht-hi prepared to fire his bolter.

"Call for help!" a voice jolted him from a defensive stance.

The sergeants turned to see Karimah holding up a psychic shield around them, warding off the attackers. The xenos tried to infiltrate it, failing miserably as she concentrated to keep it up. Reflexively the space marine started radioing for assistance.

"Any luck?" she called out as the enemy clawed and shot at them from behind the barrier.

"Hold on."

Karimah focused, channeling every energy she had into holding the shield up. From the distance, she could make out more enemy troops coming towards them.

At least she could draw them away from their colleagues, she noted, as she saw at the corner of her eye that the creatures were all drawn to her psychic energy.

"Crap." she whispered as the Aswang persisted on trying to penetrate through her protection. "Sergeant, how fast do you think they'll get here if they even get our message?"

"Fast enough that we won't need medical treatment if your shield doesn't hold up." he said. "Well...not much. They might have to replace an arm. Or two."

"That's not funny!"

"You volunteered for this!"

Magnus the Red lifted his head.

"My Lord, what is it?" Ahriman noticed the sudden change in his Primarch's demeanor.

They were wrapping up the last of the resistance, flattening the enemy with their tanks on ground and firepower from the skies. The ground was littered with dead Xenos, injured space marines, blood and body parts scattered in random gore. They were waiting for the last commander to surrender his city or be wiped off along with it.

"Aether."

His eye narrowed to the city where he had sent the Remembrancers and the scouts to, several miles away. There was smoke coming from the debris of that city, mixed with the smell of decomposing carcasses. But that was not what drew his attention.

When they first landed on this planet he had already sensed a strange energy emanating from the cities themselves. Like there was an invisible fog of unearthly force surrounding them. One that reminded him of the aether...not an exact match but very, very similar to it. That the landscape of the cities themselves seemed to shift ever so subtly was something he noted as well. Several times it had messed their plan of attack when the terrain appeared to move, but the space marines were ever so adaptable to the changes that it did not affect their formation severely. It was very unusual indeed.

Now this.

The force he could detect was from a psychic shield it seems. One that mimicked the character of the energy he detected.

A very strong shield.

By the minute it kept increasing in intensity.

Karimah closed her eyes, channeling every ounce of her strength into producing a powerful blast of lightning, as her shield began to waver. She cried out as it drew every bit of her energy to unleash it, burning off every Aswang in the immediate surrounding and setting them on fire. They howled in agony as they fell to their knees in death. Lightning chained those still in the air, instantly jumping from one flying insect to the other and incinerating them in a magnificent flash. She continued firing as Sargent Faht-hi blasted their way back to their hiding spot. He believed he had sent enough distress calls for someone to hear them. Now they needed to find somewhere to hide while they await a rescue.

She stumbled as she felt the strength drain from her. Luckily, her lightning had taken down most of the aliens that followed them, the rest being taken down by the other scouts who arose from their hiding. One of her fellow Remembrancers caught her before she hit the ground and dragged her back to the fallen building.

Sergeant Faht-hi was, for once in his life, speechless at what he had witnessed. "You didn't say you were _that_ kind of psyker..." he said.

"It was a lucky shot." she mouthed, the physical toll of what she just pulled off racking her body at that very moment.

"Whatever you say." the veteran sergeant shook his head.

"You may want to look at this sir." one of the scouts had his magnoculars on. "Not good."

The veteran space marine took the binoculars from his junior. The images snapped into clearer focus. "Not good is an understatement." He turned to the rest of his scouts. "Ready your weapons. We're going to be busy the next couple of hours."

Karimah struggled to sit up, her fellow Remembrancer helping her to stand and see what the Astartes were referring to. She gasped inwardly as the building where the first swarm of creatures came from had now opened, revealing at least two hundred if not more, of the beetle-like abominations. These were the winged ones that had ripped off the top of the Rhino earlier. Not just the dozen they saw earlier. A whole battalion of them.

As they braced themselves for the battle, a huge explosion came forth from the eastern side, violently blasting the would-be attackers into pieces. The venerated Predator tank of the Thousand Sons' First Fellowship rolled into the city, grinding their angry treads on the flesh and bone of whatever stood on their path and disintegrating the unsuspecting Xenos under powerful washes from their melta canons. Behind it followed the proud and powerful Sekhmet, Primarch Magnus's personal guard, wielding heavy bolters and Autocannons as they charged into the fray. This worked up the Aswang into a frenzy, launching their offensive from the skies. The battlefield became alive with war cries, the sound of metal against metal, the deafening blasts of canons and the generous use of aether-powered lightning strikes.

"ALL IS DUST!"

"We're missing all the action." Karimah crawled to a gap in the wall to watch it all transpire before her. She noticed their escorts had joined in the fray, leaving one scout to guard the rest of them.

She watched as the Astartes of the First Fellowship demolished their enemies with a combination of physical combat and psychic strength. It was a sight to behold as the Aswang fell in defeat, some in pieces while others were left to slow, painful ends. Their entrails spilling on the concrete streets, body parts missing, their buzzing noises stifled by the body fluids gurgling in their mouths. Her line of sight was then drawn to the legion's Primarch as he stood out. A vision in crimson red, as his namesake depicts. He wielded a weapon almost his own size, yet carried it with grace, strength and extreme efficiency. With his other hand, he cast out lightning and fire to drop his enemies to the ground. He destroyed the creatures as though they were nothing but a minor inconvenience. The Crimson King led his legion with a combination of skill and passion that one would only read about in historic legend and literature.

Karimah was more than just mildly impressed. She was astounded.

It didn't take the First Fellowship long to destroy the Aswang infestation. By the next few hours they had started to regroup and gather the source materials they had come for in the first place. Sargent Faht-hi and the remaining neophytes had their injuries tended to by the Apothecaries within the Fellowship, and luckily there were no significant casualties. Two of the Remembrancers had gone missing so Ahriman ordered scouts to search for them . Meanwhile the rest of them were loaded up in a different Rhino to head back to, as Arhiman phrased it, 'a position of safety and security.' Karimah translated this as a return to the _Scion of Prospero_.

Karimah declined to be carried in a gurney and simply limped her way into the transport vehicle. She overheard Lorgar Aurelian on the other end of a vox transmission as she passed by Primarch Magnus.

"Why did you head back North?" she could hear him losing it. "You're setting us back six hours at the rendezvous point!"

"We missed a spot." Magnus replied dryly. "But it has been settled. Besides...I didn't get your transmission on the hour of rendezvous."

"I could hear you on the other side!"

"Well I didn't hear you. Besides, that gives you an extra six hours to spread the good word." he turned off the communicator as soon as he clarified his meeting time with his brother.

Karimah smiled amusedly to herself.

"Remembrancer Tahrik."

She halted, turning to address the primarch. "Yes...my Lord..."

"Sargent Faht-hi relayed to us your bravery in the field." he said. "We recognize your valiant effort. An excellent job."

"It was a lucky shot." was all she could muster. Somehow speaking to a primarch...the Prosperan Primarch... of all people, was more intimidating than she had envisioned in her head.

"There is no such thing as a 'lucky shot' when it comes to the Aether." Magnus stood up, pulling himself to full height and making him more imposing than he was to begin with. She was barely to the level above his waistline. "You have used your psychic gift well."

"I'm just glad you heard our distress call, my Lord."

 _Distress call?_

"Yes, of course." he acknowledged. "Be on your way, our Apothecary will tend to your injuries."

"Thank you, Lord Magnus."

The Primarch watched as her disheveled figure hobbled up to the transport tank. She was covered in dirt and blood, her provided protective armor dented, scratched and missing pieces. Her hands had evidence of burns from unleashing her psychic energy earlier that day. Her long, ebony hair was mangled in the braid it was in, and the amber eyes that looked at him when he addressed her exhibited exhaustion and physical pain.

And yet he saw no fear.

He expected her to be at least traumatized by all that had transpired in the short time that she had joined the legion as a Remembrancer, given her lack of experience in a warzone. But she did not appear shook by it, not as far as he could tell.

 _Intriguing. Very intriguing indeed_.

He's going to have to tell his brother that they responded to a distress signal as to why they returned to the North. Truth be told, the reason they had gone here was because of that intense surge of energy that he had sensed. When he landed on this planet he had noted traces of it around him but that burst of power was the strongest he had picked up, and it lead him, his Sekhmet and the First Fellowship right to the source of it. Magnus received no such call for help. He responded to a psychic force that was almost to the level of his own Astartes. He could also sense however, that it was raw, undertrained, barely controlled, thus resulting in the user of it a massive drain of strength and physical damage.

With the proper training, it could be used into a potent psychic weapon.

How a civilian could possess that amount of power without augmentations puzzled him more. Something was amiss with this Remembrancer from Prospero. Something was not quite right.

A small smile cracked his normally passive face. _Challenge accepted._

Karimah breathed a relieving sigh as she exited the infirmary where she was treated for minor injuries. She was more drained than anything after releasing that psychic blast. All she wanted to do now was sleep. Her clothes were rendered useless as they were reeking of xeno stench and she had to regretably discard them. One of the Apothecarys gave her a flimsy robe to wear until she got to her quarters. She didn't really give a second thought about it, as she knew Astartes were immune to the lures of the flesh. She could prance naked around the galley and none of them would think of anything other than perhaps she had lost her mind.

"Remembrancer Tahrik."

It was one of Magnus' messengers. "Primarch Magnus would like to see you in his private chambers."

"Allow me to get dressed." she said as she self-consciously wrapped her robe tighter. She had cleansed in a shower before getting treatment and is in no way, shape, or form, presentable to anyone, much less to a Primarch.

"I'm afraid it cannot wait, my Lady." he said firmly. "It will be very brief."

She combed her fingers through her wet, wavy tresses as she followed him to the endless hall leading to Magnus' chambers, trying to look at least halfway decent. There was nothing she could do much for the sad robe, but she was certain Primarchs didn't give a flying fig about scantily dressed women either. She was sure he's seen worse.

 _At least I don't smell like rotten Aswang blood_ , she thought.

The Primarch's chambers reminded her of a library. A beautiful, well-stocked library like the one they had at the Scholas she taught at. She couldn't help but admire the vast collection that the Primarch had in his personal effects, and something told her that these were just a small part of a more extensive compilation. She could see the first twelve volumes of the Incipiens ex Magnitudine next to the Raise of the Men of Iron. Magnus had his back to her, on a personal Vox with Lorgar Aurelian again, probably making final plans. When he finished he turned to her, a mild look of surprise registering on his face before he nodded in acknowledgement.

Karimah Tahrik looked like she wanted to shrink in embarassment. Her dark hair was a mangled mess on her head, still wet from being washed, and the nondescript robe she had on clung to her still damp skin. He thought he saw a slight blush in her recently scrubbed cheeks and a nervous quiver on her lower lip. A pendant hung from her neck. He recognized it as belonging to a noble house in Prospero.

"My Lord." she addressed the primarch, breaking his visual appraisal of her. "How may I be of service?"

"I am relieving you of your Remembrancer services with Sergeant. Faht-hi." Magnus declared, meeting her questioning gaze.

 _Well that was quick_ , she thought. This was probably the shortest job she's ever held in her lifetime. She tried to hide the disappointment on her features. "I see. Well then... am I to depart at the next Imperial controlled world or at orbital instillation? I would see if I can arrange transportation back to Terra."

"Apologies. Perhaps you did not understand." Magnus realized what he said might have sounded to her. "You will not be a Remembrancer to the Scouts anymore. Nor will your talents be of any use on a fringe world or installation." He paused before adding. "I also refuse to allow your potential to be sullied by the incompetent instructors on Terra." With a cross of his massive arms across his chest, he indicated that his word was the law. And she was going to follow it. "You will serve with me and my first company as our Remembrancer and a scribe at the great Libraries of Tizca."

* * *

 _ **Author Notes:**_

 _ **Now before I get crucified on the character names, just thought I would let you know that these were names of actual people I knew. Sgt. Tamer was a friend of mine from work, and yes, he is actually Egyptian. Karimah was an acquaintance from decades ago. No, neither of them will be reading this so I think I'm safe.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed reading it, as I enjoyed writing it. I don't mind criticisms. Trolling is highly discouraged. One of the last people who trolled me here on FFN ended up being my bestie. So you have been thoroughly warned. LOL.**_

 _ **Thank you to The New Mandalord for going through my fic to make sure it is lore appropriate.** _

**_10:44 pm 12/28/2016_**


	2. A Woman From Prospero (Revised)

**_Tainted_**

 ** _by Fuuko no Miko_**

 ** _Chapter 1_**

 ** _A Woman From Prospero_**

 ** _1/13/2017_**

 _Author Notes:_

 _So I decided to change things up a bit with this fanfic. Mostly because I know you may have clicked on this link for the smut (HA HA HA HA...okay maybe not, but I did put an M rating on it right?) So I will deliver as promised. In a sense. I wanted to have a background for the OC so she's not just something I throw at our sexy Primarch just for smutty fun. Instead what I did is a new style of writing for me (just personally, as I usually don't write this way) I call a "smut sandwich". I put elements of smut in between the normal storyline, that *should* tie in with what'g going on in the story. Also to differentiate the regular story from the smut part, the latter is bolded and italicized. The smut part is what's going on now, whereas the story is more set in the past. Or something like it. I hope it's not too confusing. (Heck if you just want to read the smut you can just scroll and look for the bolded and italicized parts). So this is a combination of past and present. An experiment in writing style if you will. Well that and the way the story is going we amy not see any sexiness until chapter 3 and I figure whoever is reading would shake their fist at me and go "Where's the smexy stuff you promised, dammit!"_

 _So here goes, I hope you enjoy, read and review. If you prefer I stick to my old writing style and take the smut to another chapter, let me know._

 _12/11/16_

 _Author Notes:_

 _*deep breath*_

 _Alright, here goes. My first attempt at writing something for W40k. I would like to let you readers know this is my first foray into this fandom. I've only been into it the last few months. I'm not even done reading my first Warhammer novel, A Thousand Sons. Buuuuttt...I do love Magnus the Red. He's my favorite primarch...and I read a lot of Wiki articles. When this idea started in my head it was supposed to be a one-shot smut fic with no plot to speak of (Because why not? The Crimson King needs to get some, dang it!) But because my friend *coughcoughTheNewMandalordcoughcough* started putting ideas in my head it now evolved into a multi-chapter-goodness-knows-what. Make no mistake, there will be adult scenes (because that's all I've been reduced to doing these days...not that I'm at all apologetic about it!) but that comes by chapters 2 and 3 and...maybe even the epilogue._

 _I did run this by The New Mandalord since he's the W40k aficionado (aka nerd). It's been extensively edited/corrected by him and some lines were written by him as well (maybe 2% of the fic, 98% is me). Any mistakes in lore should be his burden to shoulder, HA HA HA HA HA. But seriously, any mistakes will be willingly accepted by myself. Constructive reviews and criticisms are welcome, pointless trolling is not._

 _The OC in this fic is the first major one I have created also. In my 16 years of writing for FFN my OCs are purely side characters. So I hope she isn't too over-the-top. Her name is also an actual first name of someone I know from decades ago._

 _Anyway, without further ado, I humbly present my fic for your consideration. Kindly read and review!_

 _Disclaimer: Warhammer 40k and everything associated with it, is property of Games Workshop._

1211 pm

* * *

In single file they boarded, slowly, dragging their belongings with them, their faces in clear awe of the vehicle that was merely a means of transportation to their main destination.

"It's just a Thunderhawk." one of their escorts said as he motioned to where they should put their things, seeming as unimpressed as the new passengers.

 _ **Amazing**_. That was the main consensus among the twelve people who loaded in it, taking their respective seats and ogling in wonder at this powerful machine that shifted from land to air to space travel.

"Please remain seated until you arrive at the Scion of Battle." spoke one servitor in its scripted, robotic speech. He assisted her on the proper application of the Gravity Harness that hold the occupants of the ship.

Karimah Tahrik smiled at the mindless cybernetic drone. "I can't wait."

Not everyone on board was a complete ingenue to space travel, of course. However that did not deter them from appreciating their newfound surroundings.

"Ready for launch."

The Space Marines escorting them to the main battleship were efficient, getting them settled in rapidly and then taking their own spots in this majestic warmachine that looked relatively empty now, having mostly regular-sized humans in it, instead of the normal thirty Adeptus Astartes in full power armor that it hosts. They looked like a handful of beans in a cookie jar.

She looked out a small window, staring at the place she called home for the last few decades. She was going to have to say goodbye. For now. Perhaps forever. She could see the towers of the libraries she had served and researched for the past years, the observatory where she would sit in the enclaves and watch the skies for ships that entered orbit, the Scholas where she studied, taught, and met Kallista Eris who had mentioned this expedition to her.

She had gone through what was like an audition to get here, showing her credentials and proving that she was an asset instead of a liability.

Maybe she wouldn't have gone through the ringer as tightly if she had mentioned to the that she was a psyker...a psyker and the daughter of a nobleman who was far more gifted and influential than she was.

But...given that she was on Terra, they may have not welcomed that fact.

This was going to be interesting.

They launched, much smoother than she had thought and soon the brown-green haze of Terra was being replaced by the constant darkness of space. She gazed in wonder as Terra shrank, and the black velvet of space embraced them. She smiled, in bittersweet memory as her last voyage outside was a little less grandiose, a bit more chaotic, and one she thinks she may have taken for granted.

She took out a pad and stylus and started writing.

Several hours passed rather quick, as the overhead Vox announced their arrival to the Photep.

Her anticipation was not without merit. The main Battleship of the Thousand Sons Legion was nothing less than breathtaking. A mighty giant of alloy, adamantium and hardened plasteel, it was an engineering masterpiece of warfare. It could easily dwarf a small planet, and host several Terran cities in it should it choose to. Their Thunderhawk was allowed entry at a point barely noticeable from the outside and they entered a dock that was as busy as any major city block...that is...if that city block was in the center of a military operation. Their vehicle settled at a small area designated for them in the middle of the organized chaos. The chattering buzz of people, the clinking of metal, the noise of engines and machineries drifted into their spacecraft the minute the doors opened and they were released unto the dock. One of the servitors motioned for them to follow them to the interiors of the bigger ship.

Their jaws dropped at the visually intensive sight before them. The battle barge interior was like another world in itself, the ceilings as high as the skyscrapers that lined up the streets of Terra, multiple floors of nonstop animated activity surrounding them. Weapons were being loaded. Rhinos being cleaned of blood and debris. Thunderhawks were being prepared for deployment.

"We don't have all day." one of the Adeptus Astartes nudged her fellow Remembrancer, encouraging her also to move along the ramp that led out of the ship as they awkwardly gaped at the sight before them. She hurriedly followed him, and the others, trying to remember which officer she was supposed to be " _stalking and being an annoyance to,_ " one of the Primarchs was rumored stating. " _If they want to be in on the action, then they should be armed and prepared to take battle._ " The Wolf King, Leman Russ, had said. Not that she would have minded. She would have even volunteered to train under Primarch Russ personally if she would be allowed to wield the majestic and powerful bolter.

That, and he was easy on the eyes too. Ruggedly handsome and tough and strong and...

She could go on and on. But that would take all day. And like the Astartes said, they don't have that.

They walked for a good distance in between hordes of workers, tech-adepts, servitors and even Space Marines. They were finally led into a large, quieter hallway where they awaited for the next event. This appeared to be control room, brimming with consoles, switches, levers and a million little things she could likely name more than half of and operate none. The space marines were busy preparing as they went about their way. A handful of them, neophytes from what she could tell, escorted her fellow Remembrancers to their quarters where they could place their belongings without being a nuisance to everyone else.

"Impressive." she murmured as she tried to find a spot to dump her ridiculous number of books, journals, data-slates and sketch pads. She would've whistled in awe but deemed it inappropriate. The Thousand Sons marines looked like a serious lot, and her gestures may be a sign of disrespect and earn her a cold spot in the galley.

 _Maybe I should've signed up for the Space Wolves,_ she mused as she took more notes on her journal.

She walked around, observing the inner workings of an imperium ship. Her fellow Remembrancers were out and about, assigned specific officers to follow. She was told to accompany the Scouts, led by veteran Sgt. Tam'er Faht-hi who she has yet to meet. As much as she had studied the Thousand Sons, distinguishing one officer from another when they were scurrying about in their armor was no easy task. She was envious of Kallista who gets to be around the more fascinating, higher-ranking members of the legion, and Mahavastu Kallimakus who was the personal scribe of the very Primarch Magnus the Red. Alas she had half their clout and experience, even as impressive as her resume already was.

The one plus of this assignment however, the very purpose of why she had fought so hard to be here, was that she got a chance to return home.

Home to Prospero.

Back to the family she had insurreptitiously left many moons ago when she had eloped to Terra with the brave and gallant Marcus Aviola, a young nobleman who served in the Imperial Army and had been to Prospero as part of an entourage. Oh but his sweet, flowery words swayed her naivete and innocence and led her to take off with him but a month of their meeting, leaving her very dissapointed parents behind, and her older brother, who at that time was still in the peak of his health.

Things were different now of course.

"Aren't we an eager beaver?" a voice from behind her spoke. The fact that it used to be an old saying from Terra based on a long extinct rodent did not go amiss. She turned about, a smile lighting up her dusky skinned features. "You don't have to record everything right away."

"Sergeant Faht-hi?" she greeted with a handshake. "Karimah Tahrik- historian, linguist, writer, and all-around nuisance."

He laughed warmly. "Don't let Primarch Russ get to you. That's him on a good day."

The sergeant made a visual inventory of the young woman before him. She was rather tall, close to six feet by his approximation. She had long, lustrous black hair that reached down to her waist, neatly tucked in a braid. She had olive skin and lively amber-hued eyes. On her neck was a fine gold necklace, with a ruby pendant of a seven pointed star covered by inverted horns. It was the family sigil of one of the noble houses in Prospero.

"Are you by chance Prosperan by blood?"

"I am." she acknowledged. "My father is Galil Tahrik, a nobleman and scribe in Tizca."

"You don't say?" he inquired as he tried to place the name in his head. "How did you end up in Terra?"

But before she could answer the veteran sergeant they were interrupted by the arrival of Ahzek Ahriman, Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons. He had all gathered the Remembrancers and set forth rules that governed the ship. What they can do, where they should not go, and who they are not allowed to interrupt. The civilian guests nodded in acknowledgement, as then Primarch Magnus the Red arrived to welcome them.

"Impressive as well." she murmured to herself, then clumsily realizing the Primarch could probably hear her anyway. She had done her own research of the Crimson King and knew of him when she was in Prospero, but the words on paper did the man no justice. As with all Primarchs of the Imperium he was physically imposing, towering above everyone else in stature and bulk. He appeared grandiose in his golden armor, surrounded by a pair of horns on both his head and chest piece. His robes flowed almost ethereally, and a book was chained to his waist. His arms were like tree trunks, and his red mane flowed like a sea of fire, he had one eye on the left, a smooth scar on the right where his other eye would have been. He exuded authority, confidence and intelligence.

 _Damn lucky Mahavastu_ , she thought as she mentally sighed. She had found the Imperium's primarchs to be a very interesting lot, their legions even moreso. How different they were in their capabilities and characteristics, and yet here they were united under the Emperor's banner to make the galaxy a solid unit. A noble cause indeed.

She looked at her sketchpad and began making a doodle of Magnus the Red on it as she half-listened to more of Ahriman's rules.

"When the invasion begins, I expect you to be all eyes and all ears. You are to touch nothing on the ship's control panels. You are not to panic. You are to stay by your escort's side always. And most importantly you are not to become a hindrance to our mission."

 _Did he say invasion?_

She looked up from her pad and that very moment, caught the single, glimmering eye of Magnus the Red, seemingly glaring at her for not paying full attention.

Or not.

For as quick as that was, he had glanced away.

Somehow, she forgets that she is surrounded by an army of mind-reading psykers, one of which is second only in power to the Emperor of Mankind.

Ahriman did really say invasion. In 48 hours. A Xenos planet of relatively primitive technology but of a good amount of natural resources that they can use to build armor, ships and whatever else the Adeptus Mechanicus can make use of. They had sent a surveillance team to scour the area, receiving reports of how well this place would serve them with its innumerable mines and quarries.

That team was never heard from again after violent screams were heard over whatever was left of the Vox.

The decision was then made to take over this small but metal-rich world.

 _Well isn't this just the excitement you're looking for?_ Karimah asked herself as they were dispersed. She knew what she was signing up for. She was a mixture of excitement and trepidation as she made her way back to the officer she was speaking to, then realizing Sgt Faht-hi had gone to brief his neophytes on the plans. She was going to have to talk to him at least a few hours before all hell broke loose.

"You are from Prospero, yes?" She turned to see the imposing figure before her, Captain Ahzek Ahriman. He sounded more like he was stating a fact than asking her for it.

"Yes, My Lord." she replied. "I was born in Prospero and had left when I was younger. But now I seek to embark on some adventures and perhaps visit my family."

He tilted his head. "This isn't a cruise you know."

She smiled. "I know what I am in for, sir. I don't just jump in the sea without acknowledging there are sharks in it...and maybe even a Kraken."

He seemed to like that answer. She can sense him smiling behind his helmet. "You are a psyker then?" Once again that sounded more of a statement than a question.

"Nowhere near as good as you sir." she answered, to which he laughed out loud.

"I like you already." he chuckled as he dismissed her with a gesture. "It is good to have a proper Prosperan to document a new culture she is actually interested in." he said, turning his gaze on her colleagues. "Show these pompous Terrans that they are not the only ones gifted in the histories arts and sciences." he paused before adding. "Find some comfort where you can, Karimah Tahrik. Welcome to the Thousand Sons legion."

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

 _ **She sauntered towards the inviting tub of fragrant, steaming water. It was a large basin more than a tub, almost like a small pool, and it emanated a combination of fragrances. Sandalwood. Chamomile. Rosewater. Perhaps a dozen more she could name. Pausing a few steps away from it, she glanced at her dingy, soiled clothing and her just as caked with dirt body. She almost didn't want to step in the bath as she feared she would contaminate it with the debris that the desert wind latched on to her person.**_

 _ **Just get in it already, she chastised.**_

 _ **She pulled the clasps that held her long, lustrous hair in a bun, allowing its raven lengths to fall on her back and shaking off the sand that had chosen to rest on it. She slid off her khaki jacket and pants, the initially white tanktop that was now undiscernable in color, and her nondescript underwear that she had on. Folding them carefully so as not to spread soil and dirt everywhere, she put them aside. Stepping in the warm bathwater provided her almost instant relief of the diffuse aches and pains she seemed to have collected at the end of the day. She sank into its welcoming depths, the water reaching just above the swell of her supple breasts. It soothed her entire body as she lay still in it, basking in its warm, fragrant tide.**_

 _ **She sat for a long while before making a move to clean herself. A bar of soap was within reach, and its scent was more intoxicating than the bathwater. She washed her hair first, combing through its ebony thickness to clean it thoroughly. Then she scrubbed her face, her neck, her whole body, making sure every inch of her was spotless. The water seemed mystical, as whatever dirt she washed off her person dissipated in its slow currents. It was as though she had no filth on her at all. It was like laying in a moving body of water such as a warm river. The currents massaged her skin, relaxing her to the point of drowsiness.**_

 _ **She would have fallen asleep then and there had it not occured to her she could drown in the process.**_

 _ **That would be an amusing way to go.**_

* * *

Magnus the Red stood before the dark enclosure that was his quarters. Behind him was his bed and a large selection of ancient books, journals and scrolls he had always kept with him. Outside was the vast, pitch black of space, littered with countless stars and planets. One of which they will be landing on soon, and conquering in the name of his father, the Emperor of Mankind. He was meeting his brother Lorgar and his Word Bearers at said planet. He thought at first silly that it needed two legions to take over such a small planetary empire, consisting of nothing more than the main planet, neighboring four moons, and only one other planetoid, but Lorgar had mentioned that this world had emanated an unusual energy. The kind he, Magnus, found very intriguing to say the least. He doesn't know what Lorgar wanted from it, but knowing his brother he's probably just looking for a new place to preach their Father's name. Whether they would understand his gibberish was a different matter altogether.

"Shall we send the initiates first, Father?"

"Yes." he replied without turning around to acknowledge his most gifted Astartes. "But make sure the back-up is not too far behind. Being primitive does not mean they are stupid." he remarked. "Tenacity and determination can sometimes overpower the most advanced of forces. Plus, they are at an advantage in that they are more familiar with the terrain. As you recall the last team we sent was unable to give us a clear picture."

"I can send another advance party for surveillance."

"By all means." he responded. "But let's not keep this too long. Small, less advanced planets should not use up all our time and resources. Especially if the gain is not commensurate with our loss."

"Or you just don't want to listen to any more of your brother's zealot speeches."

"That too." he chuckled. "I love my brother but some days one can only take small doses at a time."

"His minions are worse, in my opinion."

"I'm sure they think the same way of us." Magnus laughed.

The Captain laughed as well. They were silent for a short while before he spoke again. "Our current roster of Remembrancers hold a fair number of psykers, Father."

"I know." he paused before adding. "They will be put to better use than what they were sent here for, once we determine their capabilities."

"Would you like me to put them to a test in the battlefield? Or in less vital areas, away from the front, perhaps?"

"Easy." Magnus reminded him. "In due time their talents will arise. Perhaps we can even recruit some of them to our ranks. Become a part of history instead of just writing and recording it."

"We can be the Thousand and One Sons."

"Are you assuming only one of them will survive augmentation?" Magnus inquired. "We have to be a little more optimistic than that. And less literal. We can't be changing our name every time we get new Astartes."

"How about Thousand Children?"

"They may mistake us for Fulgrim's Lot. I would rather not." he smiled amusedly. He then dismissed Ahriman with a motion of his hand. "All this excitement is giving you strange ideas. Rest. Tomorrow we have a crusade to launch."

"A good night's rest, my Lord."

"As to you."

When his chief librarian had left, Magnus started to change into his sleeping attire. His thoughts were at the last topic of their conversation. He had sensed the presence of potentially talented Psykers in the Remembrancers' lot. He would have to choose wisely on who to train them to bring out their best abilities. No sense in wasting these gifts.

That woman.

The Remembrancer who said she was originally from Prospero. She caught his eye for but a moment. Why would a psyker who lived in a planet of her own kind take off and settle in the phobic reaches of Terra was a puzzle.

Now he was curious.

Of course, he could just delve in the recesses of her subconscious to find out why.

But where's the fun in that?

Without a second thought he settled for the night. In the next few hours he was to meet with Lorgar Aurelian to map out the final attack before they commence.

* * *

 _ **Karimah sighed.**_

 _ **The lull of sleep was not the only sensation she was having, if she was being honest with herself.**_

 _ **She crossed her legs.**_

 _ **Damn.**_

 _ **The stream of the bath water seemed to get stronger. The gentle rivulet was starting to be more aggressive now, a pleasant prickle if you will. It was occurring in almost sharp spurts in certain sensitive areas of her body.**_

 _ **She sat up, a flush occuring on her cheeks as a stirring started to occur in her lower abdomen.**_

 _ **Was it the water currents that were doing it to her?**_

 _ **Somehow she was not completely convinced that it was.**_

 _ **It was perhaps a force that was more...aetheric in nature that was triggering this sensual response.**_

 _ **She smiled to herself.**_

 _ **Naughty, naughty man.**_

 _ **Two can play that game.**_

* * *

"You know, for psykers we would have thought we'd see this coming."

"Nobody's perfect."

Veteran Scout Sergeant Faht-hi moved from his hiding spot behind the Rhino to take several shots at the oncoming horde of misshapen, purple monstrosities. They appeared to be bipedal insects. Heads and eyes like that of a horsefly attached to a humanoid body, their arms long and disproportionate, their legs hairy as those of a spider's, and moved just as quickly as if they had eight of them. They were fast, and they were heavily armed. For the sergeant, he could not reload his bolter fast enough. He barked out orders to his men, hoping against hope that they could hear him through the loud buzzing sound emanating from these creatures as they approached the severely outnumbered scouts and Remembrancers. There was about two dozen of them that unloaded from the Rhino and their numbers were dwindling fast.

"What are they?" one of the scouts sitting next to Karimah asked loudly as he took his turn to blast these vile creatures. Karimah flinched as a spatter of their aquamarine blood hit her on the face.

"Mmm...bitter. Not my cup of tea." she remarked as she spat out what landed on her tongue. "They're called Aswang." she had to raise her voice to be heard amidst the ear-piercing noise. "They're not very technologically advanced, very rudimentary actually. Not even having anything like a Vox. But they seem to know what to strike...where to intercept...like some collective hive-mind intellective of the species!"

"I thought they were cleaned out." one other scout barked as he loaded his bolt pistol.

"If I remember correctly, this might be their back-up army." She took her turn and started blasting with her plasma pistol. She wasn't the greatest marksman but knew enough to keep herself alive. "We may have stumbled upon their hibernation chambers. Once the active ones take to battle and their numbers get to a critical point they trigger these soldiers to awaken." She covered her ears as a blast from the Rhino fired into the center of the seemingly unending swarm, creating a hole in the ground and spreading insectoid parts all over the battlefield. The ground was getting sticky from the blanket of flowing xeno blood. "Or we could have triggered them ourselves...secret levers, touching things we shouldn't have. Who knows?"

"And we didn't get this information from the intelligence?" another scout remarked as he tapped on his communicator, cussing and frustrated that all he could hear was interference.

"The area where they are coming from looked like a mausoleum on the surface. " she remarked, narrowly dodging an Aswang hand that landed by her feet. "I suspect it may have looked like a graveyard but is actually some kind of underground base where they keep these soldiers in a dormant state...everything sealed to make them appear dead when they're actually just sleeping and waiting for the call of duty."

"I think you missed your calling. You should have been in the Magos Biologis." Sgt. Faht-hi chided as he signaled for the Rhino bolter to prepare firing again.

"I picked up a good time not to fall asleep during the lecture on different Xeno cultures." she joked.

"Did anyone respond to our Vox-signal for help yet?"

"Negative, Sergeant." one scout responded. "I think the enemy buzzing is distorting our signal!"

"Keep trying! Where are the other Remembrancers?"

"We have two or three hiding in the Rhino. The rest are out in the field with their escorts!"

"Maybe you should go in there." the veteran turned to her as she released the hot vapors of her weapon. He's still a bit surprised she stepped up to the plate earlier when the Xeno army appeared. He figured she would be hiding with the rest of their civilian crew.

"And miss all this fun?" she stood up and started firing again. This time one insectoid exploded within two feet of her and splashed her with its organs. "It appears I may be needing a shower after this."

A humming sound in the distance caught their attention. Louder. Louder. Closer it seemed to be getting. One scout cussed under his breath, his eyes bulging at the source of the noise. Karimah turned to where he was staring at, and witnessed a swarm. A small swarm of the Xenos scum. Unlike their ground attackers these creatures were pitch black, their heads more beetle-like, their bodies were bulkier and leathery, having metallic claws on where their hands and feet should be.

They had wings.

They were coming this way.

The flying beasts seemed to dodge and ignore the oncoming fire from the exposed humans on purpose and made for the Rhino. They surrounded it as the space marines fired aggressively at them, making sure not to hit their transport vehicle. The bolts ricocheted off their leathery chiton skin, and it took several powerful direct rounds to merely wound them. That did not deter them from collectively gripping the pintle-mounted Storm bolter-yanking, lifting, pulling.

"FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!" Sgt. Faht-hi screamed at the top of his lungs, ordering his men in the vehicle to blast the wretched creatures that clung on to their largest weapon. Alas the Aswang successfully ripped the mounted bolter along with the roof of the Rhino, peeling it like a can of sardines and taking along with it the two space marines who served as driver and as operator. Their cries of horror echoed above the buzzing noise as the winged Xenos tore through their armor.

Karimah turned her head away from the gruesome site as she watched the veteran call in his Vox for help again. He motioned for them to take cover amongst debris of buildings that had fallen. They made haste, firing their way through the Aswang that followed them. Fortunately the Scouts had made a signifcant dent in the number of the attacking xenos but there seems to be another batch marching out from the underground hideout. They were able to duck behind the collapsed walls of a building that gave in during the first waves of the assault. The upper levels of it had caved in, along with the roof and were now littering the floors. The individual blocks that made the walls were larger than a Thunderhawk and the pillars were as high as Reaver Battle Titans. It was a good hiding spot, at least temporarily.

There were seven of them altogether, three Remembrancers and four Space Marine Scouts, huddled and concealed them from enemy view.

"We need a plan. Fast." Sgt Faht-hi murmured. "I hope those bugs can't smell us."

It was the fourth day of fighting. This city was the heart of the planetary defense and the first casualty of the attacking Imperium forces. Magnus and Lorgar had convened to overwhelm them with force with a Lightning Raid. Scouts were sent in, cutting communication lines and supplies to the area and placing drop pod and Teleport Homing Beacons. Thunderhawks deployed the attack vehicles as Battle Brothers were sent through drop pods in the middle of the frey. The Aswang were completely caught off guard, as their defense system was not sophisticated enough to pick up the rapid arrival of the Imperium ships. What they lacked in technology, however, they made up for in numbers. A literal swarm of creatures that fused insect and human in a ghastly experimentation set forth an attack that darkened the very skies. They were fearless. They were unrelenting. But they were no match for the Imperium of Man. The Thunderhawks wiped the ground forces while the combined might of the fleet's Battle Barges, the _Photep_ and _Fidelitas Lex_ , gained superiority over space and air, sweeping the skies of Aswang drones. The Terminators were released to seek and eliminate their military command before annhilating the rest of their army.

The Primarchs had geographically split the planet in two, as most of it was terrain and not as much water. Once the North where the military stronghold was located was completely eradicated, Lorgar and his Word Bearers took to the Western Hemisphere, as Magnus took his legion to the East. They were to meet in the less populous Southern region once most the planet was successfully overrun.

As the Thousand Sons and Word Bearers took apart the Aswang micro-empire, they had left no survivors in their wake.

The Remembrances were brought here, to the tip of the North where it meets the Eastern borders, to study and document the alien architecture and record the glorious achievements of the Imperium. Karimah jotted down notes and made sketches as Sgt. Faht-hi was close by. She was fascinated with the size and beauty of the landscape structures, even as they had fallen in ruin from the battle. The buildings were carved out of rocks taken from the quarries and placed in interesting albeit haphazard patterns. No two were alike.

The other Remembrances took images, gathered scrolls, books and artifacts. Primarch Magnus had made sure to remind them that any item that may impart knowledge be taken and preserved. They were several hours into their mission when the awakened Aswang army started to unearth in another part of the complex they were in. Luckily one of the scouts had seen it and able to alert them for cover.

Now they found themselves here, in the middle of ruins surrounded by an angry army of humanoid insects with nowhere to run.

Sgt. Faht-hi spoke up, as his two other men kept unsuccessfully trying to use the vox for back-up. "These walls are distorting our signal." he motioned to point to an elevated clearing a hundred yards away. "See that? I think we would have a better chance to radio from there."

"But sergeant the enemy will see us if we go out in the open."

"Not all of us have to go." he murmured. He turned to the group. "I'm going to need cover."

"I'm coming with you." Karimah volunteered.

"You're a civilian."

"Exactly." she reasoned. "You boys would be more useful in the battlefield than me." she stood up and dusted off. "Let's go, Sergeant."

Hesitantly he took her on as they made a mad dash for the clearing. They have gone about twenty yards from their hiding spot when one of the insectoids spotted them. Motioning to the rest of the squad of around three dozen, they followed the two humans running.

Karimah stopped within ten feet of the clearing.

"Hey!"

"Don't mind me, Sergeant!" she yelled out. "Get help!"

No sooner had she said that when a handful of enemy soldiers pounced at her. Sgt. Faht-hi prepared to fire his bolter.

"Call for help!" a voice jolted him from a defensive stance.

The sergeants turned to see Karimah holding up a psychic shield around them, warding off the attackers. The xenos tried to infiltrate it, failing miserably as she concentrated to keep it up. Reflexively the space marine started radioing for assistance.

"Any luck?" she called out as the enemy clawed and shot at them from behind the barrier.

"Hold on."

Karimah focused, channeling every energy she had into holding the shield up. From the distance, she could make out more enemy troops coming towards them.

At least she could draw them away from their colleagues, she noted, as she saw at the corner of her eye that the creatures were all drawn to her psychic energy.

"Crap." she whispered as the Aswang persisted on trying to penetrate through her protection. "Sergeant, how fast do you think they'll get here if they even get our message?"

"Fast enough that we won't need medical treatment if your shield doesn't hold up." he said. "Well...not much. They might have to replace an arm. Or two."

"That's not funny!"

"You volunteered for this!"

* * *

 _ **She sat up a little more, just enough so that her breasts jutted slightly above the water. She put her legs up and had them slightly apart. Her left hand grasped her bosom, as the other one descended to her nether regions.**_

 _ **Mmmmhhh.**_

 _ **I'm on to you, she thought.**_

 _ **She squeezed with her left hand, her thumb running across the dark, firm nipple, triggering a current of excitement through her body. She's always had sensitive breasts, and even with the lightest stimulation they react instantly. She fondled it, massaged it, moved it in slow circles and imagined him playing with her. Meanwhile her other hand found her lower lips. She could tell the difference between being wet with the bath and from being stimulated, and she knew she was of the latter condition.**_

 _ **Aaaah.**_

 _ **Are you watching closely? The message she sent was telepathic.**_

* * *

Magnus the Red lifted his head.

"My Lord, what is it?" Ahriman noticed the sudden change in his Primarch's demeanor.

They were wrapping up the last of the resistance, flattening the enemy with their tanks on ground and firepower from the skies. The ground was littered with dead Xenos, injured space marines, blood and body parts scattered in random gore. They were waiting for the last commander to surrender his city or be wiped off along with it.

"Aether."

His eye narrowed to the city where he had sent the Remembrancers and the scouts to, several miles away. There was smoke coming from the debris of that city, mixed with the smell of decomposing carcasses. But that was not what drew his attention.

When they first landed on this planet he had already sensed a strange energy emanating from the cities themselves. Like there was an invisible fog of unearthly force surrounding them. One that reminded him of the aether...not an exact match but very, very similar to it. That the landscape of the cities themselves seemed to shift ever so subtly was something he noted as well. Several times it had messed their plan of attack when the terrain appeared to move, but the space marines were ever so adaptable to the changes that it did not affect their formation severely. It was very unusual indeed.

Now this.

The force he could detect was from a psychic shield it seems. One that mimicked the character of the energy he detected.

A very strong shield.

By the minute it kept increasing in intensity.

Karimah closed her eyes, channeling every ounce of her strength into producing a powerful blast of lightning, as her shield began to waver. She cried out as it drew every bit of her energy to unleash it, burning off every Aswang in the immediate surrounding and setting them on fire. They howled in agony as they fell to their knees in death. Lightning chained those still in the air, instantly jumping from one flying insect to the other and incinerating them in a magnificent flash. She continued firing as Sargent Faht-hi blasted their way back to their hiding spot. He believed he had sent enough distress calls for someone to hear them. Now they needed to find somewhere to hide while they await a rescue.

She stumbled as she felt the strength drain from her. Luckily, her lightning had taken down most of the aliens that followed them, the rest being taken down by the other scouts who arose from their hiding. One of her fellow Remembrancers caught her before she hit the ground and dragged her back to the fallen building.

Sergeant Faht-hi was, for once in his life, speechless at what he had witnessed. "You didn't say you were _that_ kind of psyker..." he said.

"It was a lucky shot." she mouthed, the physical toll of what she just pulled off racking her body at that very moment.

"Whatever you say." the veteran sergeant shook his head.

"You may want to look at this sir." one of the scouts had his magnoculars on. "Not good."

The veteran space marine took the binoculars from his junior. The images snapped into clearer focus. "Not good is an understatement." He turned to the rest of his scouts. "Ready your weapons. We're going to be busy the next couple of hours."

Karimah struggled to sit up, her fellow Remembrancer helping her to stand and see what the Astartes were referring to. She gasped inwardly as the building where the first swarm of creatures came from had now opened, revealing at least two hundred if not more, of the beetle-like abominations. These were the winged ones that had ripped off the top of the Rhino earlier. Not just the dozen they saw earlier. A whole battalion of them.

As they braced themselves for the battle, a huge explosion came forth from the eastern side, violently blasting the would-be attackers into pieces. The venerated Predator tank of the Thousand Sons' First Fellowship rolled into the city, grinding their angry treads on the flesh and bone of whatever stood on their path and disintegrating the unsuspecting Xenos under powerful washes from their melta canons. Behind it followed the proud and powerful Sekhmet, Primarch Magnus's personal guard, wielding heavy bolters and Autocannons as they charged into the fray. This worked up the Aswang into a frenzy, launching their offensive from the skies. The battlefield became alive with war cries, the sound of metal against metal, the deafening blasts of canons and the generous use of aether-powered lightning strikes.

"ALL IS DUST!"

"We're missing all the action." Karimah crawled to a gap in the wall to watch it all transpire before her. She noticed their escorts had joined in the fray, leaving one scout to guard the rest of them.

She watched as the Astartes of the First Fellowship demolished their enemies with a combination of physical combat and psychic strength. It was a sight to behold as the Aswang fell in defeat, some in pieces while others were left to slow, painful ends. Their entrails spilling on the concrete streets, body parts missing, their buzzing noises stifled by the body fluids gurgling in their mouths. Her line of sight was then drawn to the legion's Primarch as he stood out. A vision in crimson red, as his namesake depicts. He wielded a weapon almost his own size, yet carried it with grace, strength and extreme efficiency. With his other hand, he cast out lightning and fire to drop his enemies to the ground. He destroyed the creatures as though they were nothing but a minor inconvenience. The Crimson King led his legion with a combination of skill and passion that one would only read about in historic legend and literature.

Karimah was more than just mildly impressed. She was astounded.

It didn't take the First Fellowship long to destroy the Aswang infestation. By the next few hours they had started to regroup and gather the source materials they had come for in the first place. Sargent Faht-hi and the remaining neophytes had their injuries tended to by the Apothecaries within the Fellowship, and luckily there were no significant casualties. Two of the Remembrancers had gone missing so Ahriman ordered scouts to search for them . Meanwhile the rest of them were loaded up in a different Rhino to head back to, as Arhiman phrased it, 'a position of safety and security.' Karimah translated this as a return to the _Photep_.

Karimah declined to be carried in a gurney and simply limped her way into the transport vehicle. She overheard Lorgar Aurelian on the other end of a vox transmission as she passed by Primarch Magnus.

"Why did you head back North?" she could hear him losing it. "You're setting us back six hours at the rendezvous point!"

"We missed a spot." Magnus replied dryly. "But it has been settled. Besides...I didn't get your transmission on the hour of rendezvous."

"I could hear you on the other side!"

"Well I didn't hear you. Besides, that gives you an extra six hours to spread the good word." he turned off the communicator as soon as he clarified his meeting time with his brother.

Karimah smiled amusedly to herself.

"Remembrancer Tahrik."

She halted, turning to address the primarch. "Yes...my Lord..."

"Sargent Faht-hi relayed to us your bravery in the field." he said. "We recognize your valiant effort. An excellent job."

"It was a lucky shot." was all she could muster. Somehow speaking to a primarch...the Prosperan Primarch... of all people, was more intimidating than she had envisioned in her head.

"There is no such thing as a 'lucky shot' when it comes to the Aether." Magnus stood up, pulling himself to full height and making him more imposing than he was to begin with. She was barely to the level above his waistline. "You have used your psychic gift well."

"I'm just glad you heard our distress call, my Lord."

 _Distress call?_

"Yes, of course." he acknowledged. "Be on your way, our Apothecary will tend to your injuries."

"Thank you, Lord Magnus."

The Primarch watched as her disheveled figure hobbled up to the transport tank. She was covered in dirt and blood, her provided protective armor dented, scratched and missing pieces. Her hands had evidence of burns from unleashing her psychic energy earlier that day. Her long, ebony hair was mangled in the braid it was in, and the amber eyes that looked at him when he addressed her exhibited exhaustion and physical pain.

And yet he saw no fear.

He expected her to be at least traumatized by all that had transpired in the short time that she had joined the legion as a Remembrancer, given her lack of experience in a warzone. But she did not appear shook by it, not as far as he could tell.

 _Intriguing. Very intriguing indeed_.

He's going to have to tell his brother that they responded to a distress signal as to why they returned to the North. Truth be told, the reason they had gone here was because of that intense surge of energy that he had sensed. When he landed on this planet he had noted traces of it around him but that burst of power was the strongest he had picked up, and it lead him, his Sekhmet and the First Fellowship right to the source of it. Magnus received no such call for help. He responded to a psychic force that was almost to the level of his own Astartes. He could also sense however, that it was raw, undertrained, barely controlled, thus resulting in the user of it a massive drain of strength and physical damage.

With the proper training, it could be used into a potent psychic weapon.

How a civilian could possess that amount of power without augmentations puzzled him more. Something was amiss with this Remembrancer from Prospero. Something was not quite right.

A small smile cracked his normally passive face. _Challenge accepted._

* * *

 _ **She bit her lip as her fingers delved into the moist recesses between her legs. One finger. Two. Three. She inserted them one by one, teasing, rubbing, slowly pumping them in. Out. In. Out. All the while she continued to caress her breast, her hand shifting to the other one and pinching her taut nipples. She alternated one to the other and pushed her fingers deeper inside. Gentle moans passed through her lips as she pleasured herself. The water currents seemed to match her pace as they started to swirl faster, jutting at her harder. Her skin started to develop goosebumps from the intensity. Of her own accord her legs parted wider as she thrust her pelvis higher, her back arching as she began to feel an explosion coming on.**_

 _ **Ohhhh.**_

 _ **She gasped as felt it come on. Quick. Powerful. It imploded in her belly and traversed its way to every nerve in her body, making her whimper in delight. She arched, her back lifting a good distance from where she lay. Her nipples tingled, her lower lips contracted, quivered, spasmed in the ultimate expression of ecstasy.**_

 _ **Yes. Oh yes. Her lips quivered as the orgasmic current penetrated to the very depths of her, making her cry out in finality.**_

 _ **She held on to this for as long as she could before collapsing upon the currents, which seemed to have matched her mood as they have slowly calmed down from a turbulent state.**_

 _ **Her eyes were closed.**_

 _ **Release was always good. Always.**_

* * *

Karimah breathed a relieving sigh as she exited the infirmary where she was treated for minor injuries. She was more drained than anything after releasing that psychic blast. All she wanted to do now was sleep. Her clothes were rendered useless as they were reeking of xeno stench and she had to regretably discard them. One of the Apothecarys gave her a flimsy robe to wear until she got to her quarters. She didn't really give a second thought about it, as she knew Astartes were immune to the lures of the flesh. She could prance naked around the galley and none of them would think of anything other than perhaps she had lost her mind.

"Remembrancer Tahrik."

It was one of Magnus' messengers. "Primarch Magnus would like to see you in his private chambers."

"Allow me to get dressed." she said as she self-consciously wrapped her robe tighter. She had cleansed in a shower before getting treatment and is in no way, shape, or form, presentable to anyone, much less to a Primarch.

"I'm afraid it cannot wait, my Lady." he said firmly. "It will be very brief."

She combed her fingers through her wet, wavy tresses as she followed him to the endless hall leading to Magnus' chambers, trying to look at least halfway decent. There was nothing she could do much for the sad robe, but she was certain Primarchs didn't give a flying fig about scantily dressed women either. She was sure he's seen worse.

 _At least I don't smell like rotten Aswang blood_ , she thought.

The Primarch's chambers reminded her of a library. A beautiful, well-stocked library like the one they had at the Scholas she taught at. She couldn't help but admire the vast collection that the Primarch had in his personal effects, and something told her that these were just a small part of a more extensive compilation. She could see the first twelve volumes of the Incipiens ex Magnitudine next to the Raise of the Men of Iron. Magnus had his back to her, on a personal Vox with Lorgar Aurelian again, probably making final plans. When he finished he turned to her, a mild look of surprise registering on his face before he nodded in acknowledgement.

Karimah Tahrik looked like she wanted to shrink in embarassment. Her dark hair was a mangled mess on her head, still wet from being washed, and the nondescript robe she had on clung to her still damp skin. He thought he saw a slight blush in her recently scrubbed cheeks and a nervous quiver on her lower lip. A pendant hung from her neck. He recognized it as belonging to a noble house in Prospero.

"My Lord." she addressed the primarch, breaking his visual appraisal of her. "How may I be of service?"

"I am relieving you of your Remembrancer services with Sergeant. Faht-hi." Magnus declared, meeting her questioning gaze.

 _Well that was quick_ , she thought. This was probably the shortest job she's ever held in her lifetime. She tried to hide the disappointment on her features. "I see. Well then... am I to depart at the next Imperial controlled world or at orbital instillation? I would see if I can arrange transportation back to Terra."

"Apologies. Perhaps you did not understand." Magnus realized what he said might have sounded to her. "You will not be a Remembrancer to the Scouts anymore. Nor will your talents be of any use on a fringe world or installation, and I refuse to allow your potential to be sullied by the incompetent instructors on Terra." With a cross of his massive arms across his chest, he indicated that his word was the law. And she was going to follow it. "You will serve with me and my first company as our Remembrancer and a scribe at the great Libraries of Tizca."

* * *

 _ **From across the room, he watched. Passively sitting he looked her, not moving an inch. Yet she felt his presence close by. As though he sat but a foot from her instead of the ten yards that he was at.**_

 _ **The primarch stood up. He took slow, calculated steps towards her. He was in casual attire today. A silk white tunic with a wide gold belt across it, a crimson robe overlying the said clothing, and leather sandals. His fiery mane laid loosely upon his back like a second cape. He paused when he reached the end of tub, sitting on the foot of it, his single eye watched this entire time, unmoving, unchanging with its ember depths.**_

 _ **"I see you like it..." he observed as he dipped his hand in the water.**_

 _ **"Of course." she said as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. "Do you?"**_

 _ **"Do I like watching you in it? Yes." he answered.**_

 _ **She turned a shade of red at his reply. Whether it was from embarassment or arousal he couldn't quite tell.**_

 _ **"It reminds of that day you were in my quarters." he said as his hand played with the currents inside the tub. "I expected you there, of course. But I didn't expect you to be half clothed."**_

 _ **The warmth in her cheeks increased."It wasn't intentional!" she reasoned. "Your messenger said you couldn't wait, and I was just coming from the infirmary."**_

 _ **He was amused. "Why do you think it was a bad thing? A beautiful, intelligent woman, scantily dressed in a wet robe and freshly showered, in my chambers." he shook his head in amusement. "I may be super human, but you forget the human part." a twinkle of mischief appeared in his single eye.**_

 _ **She leaned forward and raised her knees , concealing her naked body from the transparency of the clear water and eliciting a disapproving look from him. "And what did that human part think?"**_

 _ **"I believe you know the answer to that."**_

 _ **A corner of her mouth raised as she imitated his speech. "Oh this malicious Terran is trying to seduce a Primarch of the Imperium!"**_

 _ **He laughed aloud, and she realized there may have been a grain of truth to her statement. "Well...was she now?"**_

 _ **She snorted. "I certainly wasn't trying."**_

 _ **"Truth be told...you may have succeeded if you did."he spoke as he leaned forward to kiss her partly open mouth. She held his cheek as she kissed him back. Completely. Thoroughly.**_

 _ **He had the softest lips, she thought as she traced its outline with her tongue.**_

 _ **"What if I was attempting to do that now?" she invited when she pulled away from him, this time exposing her completely naked body to him under the water.**_

 _ **The primarch stood up, rapidly discarding his clothing and kicking it aside. He was a breathtaking sight. His chest was wide and muscled, his abdomen flat and rippled, tapering to his narrow hips. His arms and legs looked sinewy and powerful, and needless to say he was proportionate in every aspect of his body. He stepped into the tub, displacing a good amount of bathwater and spilling it everywhere on the floor.**_

 _ **"You're making a mess." she said as she swam towards him.**_

 _ **"You and I will be making a bigger one." he declared as he pulled her closer. She took his face in her hands as she kissed him passionately, thoroughly, her tongue infiltrating between his lips. His hands slipped across her naked, wet back, drawing her closer and pressing her chest against his. Her nipples hardened in response to the contact, to which she released a moan. She rubbed against him, feeling him tense with her stimulation. She positioned herself on his lap, straddling him. The bath water splashed everywhere, and with a motion of his hand it evaporated without a second thought.**_

 _ **"Sorcerer." she teased, to which he bit her lower lip as his response.**_

 _ **"Enchantress." he murmured, as he proceeded to bite her neck.**_

 _ **"Don't leave a mark for everyone to see." she protested.**_

 _ **"Who else are you showing your neck to, woman?"**_

 _ **"To a worthy man."**_

 _ **"He does not exist then. The only one worthy of you is me."**_

10:44 pm 12/28/2016

* * *

 _Author Notes:_

 _Now before I get crucified on the character names, just thought I would let you know that these were names of actual people I knew. Sgt. Tamer was a friend of mine from work, and yes, he is actually Egyptian. Karimah was an acquaintance from decades ago. No, neither of them will be reading this so I think I'm safe._

 _I hope you enjoyed reading it, as I enjoyed writing it. I don't mind criticisms. Trolling is highly discouraged. One of the last people who trolled me here on FFN ended up being my bestie. So you have been thoroughly warned. LOL._

 _Thank you to The New Mandalord for going through my fic to make sure it is lore appropriate._

 _10:44 pm 12/28/2016_

1/10/2017 2:39 pm


	3. The Reluctant Psyker

Chapter 2

The Reluctant Psyker

by Fuuko no Miko

 _Author Notes:_

 _This is a little delayed...mostly because I got so carried away with it and I ended up writing Chapter 3 as well. Then the smut. Then I got ideas for Leman Russ and another OC, and an adorable OC couple ValThrax (my unofficial name for this crackship...courtesy of SisterofSilence...God this is your fault and I know you aren't sorry. LOL Then again neither am I.)_

 _I took some liberties with Psyker training because I've been told that GW has never really released anything official. Plus this is fanfic...so...why the hell not?_

 _There's a little smut here, not a lot. I saved a lot of that sexy stuff for chapter 3. If you're just here for that (and not my super compelling story...seriously I do have a plot in this cheesefluff, I promise!), you can scroll down and look for the bold and Italicized parts. The smut does not occur in the same timeline as the story, for now. In chapter 3 they may all blend in together._

 _Thank you for reading. Reviews are much appreciated! Us fanfic writers thrive on that stuff!_

* * *

Since the whole deal with the Aswang's hidden army, Primarch Magnus kept her close at bay. She had been promoted to the ranks of more regaled Remembrancers who worked with the Crimson King's primary company. Not that it made her job any easier. If anything, she felt more pressure to perform. She wanted to show him she was worth it. She gathered as much items and information from the ruins of the Eastern part of the planet, gathering books, artifacts of interest and relics. She made careful notes of the achievements of the Thousand Sons, drawing, writing, and reporting. She did her best to avoid being a damsel-in-distress. For one reason or another she often found herself being hounded by rogue attacks from what was left of the Xeno resistance, and the not-so-occasional assault by the planet's own predators. She used whatever psychic attack she knew, a number of times burning her hands in the process or rendering herself lightheaded and syncopal. She had gotten so well acquainted with the Apothecary that they called each other by first name basis.

"I think you enjoy my company too much, Mistress Karimah." one Apothecary named Abulkhariz observed as he tended to her injuries.

"I do." she replied, wincing as he started to clean the abrasions. "I just wish it was spent under a cooling tent with coffee and pastries. " She sighed. "I'm beginning to wonder if these beasts don't like my scent. I haven't seen them attack anything or anyone else for that matter." she raised a brow at the Astartes, "You don't suppose I should change bath soaps?'

The Space Marine laughed, knowing full well that the reason for the Remembrancer getting assaulted by these animals had nothing to do with her being eyed as dessert, but had all to do with a very curious Primarch. Magnus had deliberately let her underguarded, or not guarded at all to see how she would fare against random assaults. He had instructed the Space Marines to leave her to her defenses unless it was absolutely necessary to step in.

"What if she gets killed in the process, my Lord?" Phosis T'kar once asked when told by his Primarch to stay in the background.

"Then you have failed orders." Magnus explained. "I said, step back, observe what aetheric powers she draws. I didn't say not to help her."

She did relatively well, he had to admit as he casually watched from a distance. She was clearly a little rusty, as control of her powers was something she lacked. His Astartes stepped in at about the right time before she damaged herself, just as he ordered.

"She commands the power of lightning, Hathor." he spoke to the captain of the Third Fellowship once he was satisfied with his observation. "I believe she will do well with the Pavoni. Teach her, my son. Show her the ways of the aether."

Hathor Maat knew it was an order, not a request.

The captain of the Pavoni was puzzled, to say the least. What benefit would it be to train a human whom he was certain showed no interest of being an Astartes? Surely the Prosperan woman had powers that were unseen of for her level, but why harness it?

"If you see a piece of coal on the ground, Hathor, one with the slightest hint of being a diamond underneath, would you not attempt to polish it to see what you can make of it?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"It may just be of value to you someday...to use for a personal ornament, or one to be gifted to someone else. But you would not know until you harvest it. Break it down until you get to the very core and unlock its true beauty. I see no reason for such potential to be wasted because it went by unnoticed."

The Pavoni never questioned his Primarch again.

Meanwhile the Word Bearers and the Thousand Sons made waste of their respective regions before finally conquering the south of the planet in the name of the Imperium. The remaining outer colonies had surrendered without much ado, as they lacked anything close to the defenses the main planet had. Within several weeks the Aswang planet was labelled compliant by the Imperium of Mankind.

Magnus then tried to investigate the rest of the psychic energy he had once noticed when they first landed, but it had somehow mysteriously dissipated. Disappointed at the lost opportunity, he had left early, notifying his Father of the victory, and the Adeptus Mechanicus of their new playground.

Hathor Maat was initially reluctant to take on the Prosperine Remembrancer under his wing, but found her later to be a very eager student. She made it a point to be on time for their hours-long sessions, and showed genuine interest and enthusiasm for what knowledge he had to show her. She worked hard, studied hard and was very attentive to him. It made the time fly by quick whenever they had encounters.

"I suspect you enjoy your charge's company too much there Hathor." Phosis T'kar once teased as the former left after his teaching session with Karimah with an ear to ear grin on his person.

"He hardly spends time with us anymore." Khalophis elbowed his fellow Astartes. In a mock voice he imitates the captain of the 3rd Fellowship. "Oh sorry guys, Ive got to teach my pretty... I mean...industrious student out there."

"Well, she is better looking than all of you." the Pavoni captain smirked. "And with a much more likable personality."

"She does not have eyes for you, you know."

"Well she has none for any of you either."

Magnus shook his head as he overheard his captains. "She is your disciple, not an object of dissection." he scolded them. He dismissed the rest of them and beckoned to Hathor to inquire about the Prosperan Remembrancer's progress.

"She is an intelligent woman, my Lord." the head of the Pavonis reported. "She enjoys lessons in biomancy, telepathy and telekenesis."

"And do you like imparting knowledge to her?"

"I do...however..." he paused before adding. "She hesitates."

A flicker appeared in Magnus' eye. He was not completely surprised by this report. "In what regard?"

"When it comes to matters of tapping into her aetheric energy and projecting her non-corporeal form." he noted, his forehead furrowing at the thought. "She does not say much, but I know she can do much more than she shows. I can sense it."

"Have you tapped into her thoughts on why she holds back?"

"She blocks me to a degree." he confessed, albeit a little embarassed at the fact. "I think I might have taught her too well on that...but I feel her fear. A great fear. Of what I cannot fathom."

"Do you think she does not wish to engage in this endeavor?"

Hathor shook his head. "She is interested, I am certain. Until this...irrational fear would come over her...I wish I could explain it."

From a distance, Karimah could tell she was the subject of conversation, but she dared not acknowledge it. She had been training with Hathor Maat with her psyker abilities and she would be lying if she had said she did not like them. Telepathy, divination and telekinesis interested her greatly although she knew they were not her greatest asset. Her strongest ability laid in her ability to form fire and lightning out of her hands and form protective shields. Well, that and one other thing...one she preferred to keep a secret.

* * *

 _ **She smiled as she pressed against his massive frame, matching her curves with his angles. She moved to rub her pelvis aginst his, immediately feeling his arousal against her belly. He groaned when she reached down to grasp it. The primarch was sizable in more ways than one. She could barely get her hand around his girth. She slid her hand on it, up, down, up, down. He was so hard she could swear he was not made of flesh but of steel. He leaned back, his single eye watching her as she pumped his erection. She moved off his lap and kneeled in front of him, still holding his shaft. A sound like a low growl came from his throat as she stroked him vigorously, the water splashing everywhere.**_

 _ **"Uhhh." he bit his lip, having difficulty holding in the exquisite sensations her hand was drawing from him. "I need to be inside you." he managed to sputter. "I cannot hold it much longer."**_

 _ **"Wait...we can't..."**_

 _ **"I know..." he spoke in between breaths. "Apologies...I get carried away at times."**_

 _ **"I do too...you're so...distracting."**_

 _ **"Shall we...?"**_

 _ **"Have I ever said no to you, my Lord?"**_

* * *

Karimah finished a journal entry before attending her session with Hathor Maat. She was excited to tell him about her newfound skill in moving things with her mind. It took a relatively good effort in her part but she was making progress. She had worked on moving an object before and now she could move four or five of them at a time. She set out to meet him at a makeshift pavilion they had constructed in this Imperial orbital installation where they had stopped to replenish supplies.

He wasn't there at their rendezvous point however.

Sitting crosslegged in the middle of an empty hall with training mats was a different person. He was ensconced in meditation, his heqa staff laying neatly beside him and his headpiece obscuring his face at that particular angle. He wore a simple white, linen schendyt and no shirt was on his person. He was also barefoot. His long, flowing red mane was bound in multiple sections by golden bands.

She was about to speak when a telepathic message was conveyed to her.

"Remembrancer Tahrik."

"My Lord." she replied telepathically as well. "Greetings. I did not expect you here."

Magnus stood up, picking up his staff. He appeared less overwhelming without his standard armor and having less clothing on his person, but was intimidating nonetheless.

His presence seemed to fill the room, even if he only stood a little over a foot taller than she was.

She felt her mouth go dry at the sight of him.

He was quite magnificent. Tall and muscular, he looked like he he was carved from the finest marble.

She scolded herself for thinking that, realizing that he could read her thoughts as easy as it was for him to breathe.

She cleared her head of the physical distraction. "How may I be of service, Lord Magnus?" she communicated without speaking.

"I am here to see your progress." he answered. "Would you mind if we conduct a little test?"

"Not at all."

As fast as she had answered, the Primarch had made a flicker with his hand, releasing a small ball of energy from it and tossing it in her direction. She raised her hand, forming a shield much faster than she used to and effectively blocking the attack. With that followed a second flash, that she had intercepted as well, protecting herself with the psychic energy Hathor Matt practiced with her time and time again.

"Good." Magnus nodded, not saying a word. He volleyed a few more sparks with his staff and Karimah dodged and deflected a good majority of them without using as much energy as she did prior to her training.

Through his mind he advised her to sit down across him.

"I would like to try your telekinetic skills." he said. "Take my weapon away with your thought and throw it at me with intention to harm."

Her brows raised at his order. "I dare not attack you, my Lord."

"It is not an attack if I sanctioned it." he smiled a little. "Besides, it will take much more than a staff to injure me."

She sat there motionless, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to hurt him if she died trying. Still it didn't feel right.

"Take it from me or I will use it against you."

A ball of fire suddenly emanated from the staff, hurling towards her with a mighty speed. With a split second to spare she was able to stop it with her mind, barely an inch from her face. She pushed it aside with a thought and it dissolved in air.

"Pry it away from me... otherwise you shall receive another one."

She concentrated. Her mind was able to move the tip of his heqa staff.

"Focus. Focus harder." he instructed.

The weapon moved slightly in Magnus grip.

"Should I tell Hathor how lousy a teacher he is? I don't think he would appreciate that."

With that a spark of light appeared, coming at her so quickly she almost was not able to deflect it, save for a quick shield. She fell backwards at the impact, but quickly sat back up to perform the task he set upon her.

"Take it."

The staff shook harder. Magnus held on to it but then he felt his fingers one by one being pried open. He felt his thumb twisting a direction it was not supposed to go and with that the weapon released itself from his grip.

"I apologize, my Lord." she said as the object landed in her hand.

"There is no need." he replied mentally with a smile, though he had to admit his joint hurt very minimally with her actions. "Now throw it back."

Karimah tossed the Primarch's weapon swiftly at his direction.

He vanished.

The entire room went pitch black.

She looked around, her eyesight defying her of anything discernable. No sounds could she detect with her ears attuned. Hathor did this to her numerous times before when they did mental exercises, and she sat still, remembering what he had told her to do. She closed her eyes, attempting to see with her mind's eye what her physical eyes cannot detect.

 _Focus_ , he had said. _Draw from the aether. Try to see with your mind._

Karimah took a deep breath.

 _Clear yourself of any fears, any distractions._

For a solid ten minutes all she could feel was her own breathing.

She felt a solid mass bump upon her arm.

 _Thump._

She kept her eyes closed.

Another one. This time by her back. It felt rather sharp.

 _See without eyesight. Hear without sound._

She fell back as she felt a violent tug on her ponytail. But her back did not land on solid ground.

Her eyelids flew open, and a frightening sight appeared before her.

 _Daemons._

Creatures that had called the aether home, and feasted upon anyone foolish enough to enter.

A sea of them.

Circling her. How many were there? Seven? Ten? She could not tell. They appeared as a parody of ravenous predators of Old Terra. Malicious, vile, creatures. Sharp teeth. Long tongues. Eyes burning with fire. Claws. Misshapen bodies. She tried to back up as they seemed to come closer. The creatures gibbered something in all pitches of sound as they surrounded her, and others appeared from cracks in reality and began dancing amongst the chamber.

She could not move.

She closed her eyes again. _This is not real. This is a trick. The aether decieves you! They are but illusions._

"Argh!" she pulled her arm back as one of them scratched her. Her eyes opened instinctively to the pain and she saw blood and clawmarks on her right arm. She had not so much as moved as another one sank its teeth unto her leg. "No! Get away!" she felt the sweat pour down her forehead as she reached with her injured hand, zapping the malevolent spirit with lightning.

She was floating in a deep, swirling void. Magnus was nowhere to be seen. She felt the currents tugging at her in all directions and monsters headed her direction. She felt as though she was in no control over her body.

 _Focus._ She said to herself. _This is not real._

They came at her.

Karimah drew from within, trying to get to her feet and regain her balance. She was able to pull out a shockwave of lightning, scattering them around her and hitting the wayward spirits. They screeched, as they burned from her spell, bursting, exploding and scattering about. Whence once disintegrated another one took its place, and another...and yet another.

 _No!_ She cried out as they piled on her, pulling, clawing, slashing. _Help me!_ She burst forth a kine shield, channeling all her energies as it wrapped around her to protect her and dispell the beasts that surrounded her. She lost footing again and felt herself tumbling helplessly in the Great Ocean as more creatures appeared from the void . She paused as she hit a solid object. Its arm wrapped around her shoulders, stopping her descent into a bottomless abyss.

She struggled against it, thinking it was another creature that intended to hurt her.

"Be still."

Lord Magnus.

He held her tightly against him, as he raised his hand to stop the onslaught of daemons, blasting them away with a magnificent fire from his khapesh. She buried her face in his chest as he floated away with her, far from the ravaging monstrosities of the immaterium.

She raised her head to see if the danger has abated.

Magnus disappeared.

She was in the darkness, her feet now feeling solid floor. She could see nothing, hear nothing, and she stumbled as she ran into the pitch black space, sweat profusely dripping down her face as she had her hands forward, trying to feel anything that would make sense.

"Help me." she turned her head, expecting to see monsters pursuing her. "Help me!"

She tripped. Karimah felt a set of strong arms catch her before she hit the ground. With that, a flicker of light came on from a short distance, illuminating the figure who cushioned her fall.

"My Lord." she spoke in between breaths. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...I..."

"Hush." he spoke as he held her in his massive arms. "It's alright. The beasts are gone."

She covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a cry of relief. She leaned her head forward against the Primarch's undressed chest, finding comfort in his strength. "Apologies my Lord," she spoke as she composed herself. "I didn't mean to panic." Realizing she was holding on to him quite tightly, the Prosperine Remembrancer blushed and excused herself, as the Primarch helped her get back on her feet.

This. This was what held her back. Magnus realized now.

She had tried to see through the darkness using the power of the aether, as Hathor Maat had taught her. But in the process she ended up losing herself in the tide of the Great Ocean. She crossed it without conscious knowledge and without proper restraint. The monstrosities had been drawn to her like a beacon of light and had attacked her.

For as inexperienced as she was dealing with the Great Ocean, Karimah Tahrik could traverse it easily. Too easily. Almost like it was second nature. When she transitioned from her corporeal body to the aether she didn't exert half as much effort as even his Astartes. The problem lay therein that she could not control it and she was easy prey for those who do know how to manage their presence in the immaterium.

That's what she was afraid of. This was her irrational fear.

Magnus felt he can help her with that immensely.

The other question was how she could do it in the first place? Was it something she was born with?

Mysteries that needed to be investigated. Querries that needed answers. This was beyond the level of any of his captains, even Ahzek Ahriman.

She was clearly shaken, visibly trembling and pallid. The woman has had enough, Magnus decided.

"The evening meal beckons." he spoke as he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Come join me."

They were silent as he led her out the training facility.

"The wards," were the first words out of her mouth as she overcame the shock. "How did the creatures pass through the wards?"

"I do not know at this time," Magnus let out a heavy sigh. "It is a conversation I must have with my Father for a later time. I apologize that I put you in any danger, but you handled yourself well. This test was a test of initiative, and how well you harnessed your power under pressure in the face of the unknown. I am satisfied that you will now begin your true training under my tutelage, Karimah Tahrik."

"You mean I didn't fail?" she murmured, having difficulty finding her voice after the whole ordeal.

"On the contrary, you passed and rather well. Aside from some… minor collateral damage." he said. The lights now fully back on, showed the hall's interior was a wreck. It would have to be closed to properly repair. "You were in no danger, at first. The illusions you first encountered were apportions conjured by me. A bit too convincing, I might add. However, when you crossed into the aether they attracted more...malevolent beings."

"I see." her voice was racked of guilt and residual fear.

He smiled at her, despite this. "By the time you are learned from me, these spirits will fear your very presence instead."

"Thank you, my Lord."

As they walked towards the path that lead to the main dining hall, Karimah noted that the Primarch's arm was still rested upon her shoulders.

She didn't say a word and simply smiled to herself.

She was going to train with the Primarch. She wasn't sure if she wanted to jump for joy or roll into a ball of anxiety.

* * *

 _ **The primarch closed his eyes, concentrating. She followed suit. Slowly they left their corporeal bodies behind, and though it was more difficult for her to do so, his psychic strength aided her in their joint endeavor. Rapidly they dissipated into the air, rematerializing later in a parallel universe where their physical differences mattered none.**_

 _ **"Where were we?" Magnus asked as they reappeared in a room very similar where they were, except this place was not accessible to anyone without psychic gifts.**_

 _ **"You were in the middle of pleasing me." Karimah replied.**_

 _ **"Or were you in the middle of pleasing me?" the Primarch retorted.**_

 _ **"Both." she said as she released herself from his embrace. They had reappeared in a parallel dimension, still in tub with its fragrant waters that were now overflowing. With a flicker Magnus evaporated half of its contents away, the water now barely covering his thighs as he sat.**_

 _ **She resumed her position between his open legs. Their transition didn't seem to affect his arousal as it was still at the vertical angle. She sat on his lap, her back to him and her vision focused on his turgid shaft.**_

 _ **A corner of her mouth lifted as she took it with her two hands and started to pump him. Up. Down. Vigorously. Gripping firmly as though she was attempting to make him climax with her hands.**_

 _ **It felt so good it was almost painful.**_

 _ **The Primarch's face contorted in blissful agony as she did.**_

 _ **"Stop." he uncharacteristically pleaded.**_

 _ **"And I should do that because..."**_

 _ **"Please."**_

 _ **Instead of complying, she bent over and took him in her mouth.**_

 _ **Inch by inch she took him in, deep in her throat. She could feel him squirm as she did. She slid her tongue across every part of him, gently sucking his cock as she descended. She felt him reach for the cheeks of her buttocks, squeezing hard as she made her progress. Once she hit the hilt, she pulled him quickly out of her mouth, making it almost pop towards the end.**_

 _ **He gasped, as though trying to take in air when she did that. His fingers dug deep in the flesh of her ass, as though acknowledging the intensity of what she just did.**_

 _ **"You vile temptress..." he spoke through gritted teeth. But the Primarch could not finish his sentence as she slid his erection into her soft, warm mouth again. "Ahhh..."**_

* * *

Hathor Maat was a bit disappointed when he had foud out he was losing his student. He had to admit she was always a breath of fresh air to him, however it did earn him a myriad of teasing from his fellow captains.

"Sorry, my brother. But you are no match for a Primarch." Khalophis shook his head in mock regret. "I told you to brush your teeth more often."

"And floss." Phosis T'kar added. "Or dye your hair red."

"It was fun while it lasted." Hathor sighed, ignoring his fellow Astartes' barbs. "I just hope she makes it out alive and sane."

No words could be truer, as Karimah found out. Training under Magnus the Red was significantly more difficult than with the Pavoni captain. He was stricter, more disciplined, and pushed her to her very limit. Her training sessions were not as frequent, as the Primarch was occupied with many other things, but for the most part they occurred before the evening meal. It could range from an hour to four hours and no matter how long it was she was drained by the very end. He delved deeper into the things that Hathor Maat taught her. He made her read more books, move larger objects, alter her biology and communicate mentally in the midst of the worst distractions. The only thing he had not pressed as much was the transmission of her non-corporeal form into the Great Ocean.

"That will be last." he had said. "I will not throw you unto the lions until I know you can defeat them."

After each session he would invite her to sit with him during supper. Magnus usually dined with the captains of his Fellowship, although on several occassions she would be his only company. It was during these times that he would tell her stories. Of the empire, the Great Crusade, of the events in Prospero during her absence, tales of his brothers...all to which she would turn a keen ear to. She had always found the Emperor of Mankind and his sons a fascinating group, and had read plenty of stories about them. This time she was getting first hand information.

"If we have the chance to run into my brothers I will introduce you to them." the Primarch said as he took another bite of the roasted meat he was served for that night. "Is there anyone in particular you wish to meet?"

"Lord Horus Lupercal." she replied quickly as she spread butter on a slice of the warm bread. "I find him an interesting person."

A smirk appeared on the corner of Magnus' mouth. "The only thing Horus has over me is his extra eye."

"I didn't mean to offend you, my Lord." she took his comment seriously, to which the Primarch responded with a bellowing laugh.

"I jest, Mistress Tahrik." he dismissed her worried look. "I have been training you for over six months now, you should know that I bear no jealousy towards my brother."

"Apologies, my Lord."

"Magnus." he corrected. "You needn't be so formal around me in these circumstances." He paused to take a drink on his wine glass before he spoke again. "What about your family?"

"What about them?" she asked.

"You never seem to mention them? Well...not much. You said you have your parents and a brother."

"Yes." she replied. "My father is of noble birth. He was as a scribe in Tizca. My mother is also of nobility, jewelry making is her industry. And my brother...he is ill at the moment, but he has a family of his own. A wife, and two sons, twins in fact."

"Do you have children as well?"

"No my ...I mean, Magnus." it felt strange to her to call him by name. "I am...incapable of bearing children." she made it sound as it was not a big deal. "Marcus...my then husband...his family was not too thrilled about not having grandchildren by him since he was an only child."

"I didn't mean to pry." Magnus retracted.

"It's no big secret." it was her turn to dismiss his apology. "They weren't happy about him bringing home a young bride from Prospero in the first place."

"Did they know of your abilities?"

"They never acknowledged it, but I suspect they knew." she explained as she dove into her meal with gusto. "My powers weren't too grandiose, but over the years I began to lose my handle on them. It was becoming more and more difficult to conceal. So I decided to return home to Prospero, where I am but one of a million psykers and need not worry about being an outcast." she continued to speak. "And since I heard about this expedition, I figured, why not? Use my knowledge to do something valuable, have some adventures, and at some point return home."

"Have you no fear of dying in the battlefield?"

"Marcus had always told me- better to die doing something worthwhile, than to live in banal existence." she smiled at the mention of her spouse.

That would explain her candor in their campaigns, Magnus thought. She always volunteered to be in the front of the line, and became an unofficial protector of her fellow Remembrancers from dangerous assignments. Then and there he felt admiration for her. "And what does your former husband say about your current...situation?"

She shrugged. "I would not know, my Lord. I cannot read the thoughts of the deceased."

"Oh."

The Primarch had not been aware that the Remembrancer was a widow. He was under the impression she was separated.

"Marcus served in the Imperial Army. He died during a battle with the greenskin, about two years after we were wed." she relayed. "After that...I stayed on Terra. Decided to pursue my interests, became a scholar and a professor. I debated on going back home to Prospero, for as well as I have adapted to Terra. But as I mentioned, I was losing grip on my psyker abilities...so here I am."

"Well I'm glad you are here with me...and the Thousand Sons." he said at last. "You will never have to worry about your gifts here."

"Thank you, my Lord."

"One of these days I will rid you of calling me that." he lectured in humor as he had motioned for their finished meal to be taken away. He held out his hand for her to stand up which she took without hesitation. He escorted her to the door before he spoke up again. "I have nothing on my agenda tonight, Mistress Tahrik." he announced. "Would you care to join me in a scientific endeavor?"

The very thought intrigued her. "How can I refuse such an endearing request?"

"I will meet you at the Observatory in two hours." he said as he led her out of the dining room.

"See you then, My Lord."

"Magnus."

"Yes...Magnus."

* * *

 _ **Karimah was having to much amusement as his expense as she played deaf to his pleas of ceasing her assault. She momentarily paused when she felt his fingers rubs the moist lips of her sex. He was clearly trying to get back at her for teasing him so. She moaned as she felt his fingers penetrate her, infiltrating deep into her warm, moisture. Her lower lips contracted in response to his stimulation, making her body tingle with delight.**_

 _ **She slowly pulled his hardened shaft out of her mouth, turning her head towards him and lusciously licking her lips. "Have you had enough yet?"**_

 _ **He growled.**_

 _ **Before she could tease him further he lunged at her, picking her up, fllipping her over and carrying her out of the tub. Karimah reflexively wrapped her legs around his waist as he stood. He marched towards the closest wall, pushed her against it and without warning penetrated her with his erection. He plunged deep into her, the initial entry making her cry with impact. He rubbed his chest against hers, her tight nipples tickling him. Through gritted teeth he growled, and started thrusting into her. She held on to his shoulders as he moved his hips back and forth.**_

 _ **"Magnus..."**_

 _ **"Karimah..." he spoke through his tensed jaw as he kept plunging his shaft into the hot, tight receptacle between her legs. Her warm juices flowed out with every push. Her muscles contracted with each entry and exit that he performed. She clung to him for dear life as exquisite sensations flowed throughout her stimulated body. His massive hands cupped her buttocks as he pushed deeper and deeper into her. Her vaginal walls squeezed his hardened length, as though it wanted to devour him.**_

 _ **"Oh...oh...Magnus...I..." she bit his shoulder as she felt her orgasm burst from within and spreading through every inch of her body. Her teeth sank into the meat of his flesh as she cried out. He was not far behind her, as she felt his warm essence spurt into her so vigorously, the excess dripping to the inside of her thighs. His face was buried in her hair and she felt him grunt his release. She fell limp against him as her climax subsided, Magnus still holding her tight. He took her into his arms and carried her back to bed where he laid her and he followed suit.**_

 _ **He drew her as close as possible to his still wet body.**_

 _ **"We're going to get the bed wet." she murmured softly as she snuggled against his chest.**_

 _ **"So?" he kissed the top of her head. "I can dry you up with my tongue...just say the word."**_

 _ **She giggled before slapping the side of this thigh where she had her leg draped. "You're such a pervert."**_

 _ **"Said the one who corrupted me into her bed." he pointed out.**_

 _ **"Hey! You weren't exactly dragged into it kicking and screaming." she stuck out the tip of her tongue.**_

 _ **"I would like to think I put up a bit of resistance."**_

 _ **"Only because you were worried Amon would catch you."**_

 _ **"Catch...us."**_

* * *

Karimah was rather giddy at the thought. She had not the slightest idea what the Primarch had in store for them at this "scientific endeavor" but she was excited nonetheless. So excited that she could not decide what to wear, as she had showered and discarded the outfit she had worn all day and to dinner earlier. A bevy of clothes were scattered all over her bed. Dresses. Pants. Blouses. Tunics. Deciding she was never going to make up her mind, she closed her eyes and pulled out a random piece of clothing. It was a white kalasiris, a dress she had owned when she still lived in Prospero. She slipped it over her head, wondering if she had put weight on that was going to make it look awkward on her.

She looked in the mirror. The simple sheath dress fit her well, having a soft, stretchable fabric that clung to her every bump and curve. Along its neckline were embedded amber crystals that seemed to make her complexion glow and complemented her family necklace.

"Not too shabby." she observed, even noting that the dress looked rather flattering on her. Deciding she had little time left to make it to the meeting place, she let her long hair flow freely on her back, as opposed to braiding it as she usually did. She took off in a huff to meet the Primarch.

Magnus was already there when she arrived, and she felt somewhat foolish on keeping him waiting.

"I arrived early on purpose." he said before she could mutter an apology. He wanted to scold her for being contrite all the time, as he saw no reason to be. One of these days...

She did smile at him, however, that he did like. He found her more attractive when her face lit up like this. The Remembrancer was also always jovial and polite. Whether she was rummaging the battle ruins for artifacts, rescuing her fellow remembrancers from an interplantery predator or putting up with the debauchery of his Fellowship captains, she always had a positive attitude. He liked that too.

He made a rapid visual sweep of her appearance as she stepped into the room. Karimah had a figure-flattering kalasiris on, a very common type of women's clothing on Prospero. The gems on the dress sparkled like her eyes did, and her family pendant kept its place around her neck. Her long, raven locks were hung loosely on her back today, unlike the dozen other times she had it in a braid or in a bun. It made her look younger than she was. The Primarch wondered if she had dressed nicely on intention.

"You look quite fetching, my Lord." she spoke in sincere admiration, breaking his train of thought.

"Thank you." he acknowledged. He had put on a light tunic of the finest weave, embellished in gold and without sleeves, the fabric enhancing the appearance of his toned physique. He had his red hair neatly tucked in multiple weaves. The Primarch always strived to look his best, though hearing the compliment from his student managed to draw a silly grin to his lips.

Karimah turned away before the Primarch could detect the adulation in her aura. Or at least that what she hoped. She moved towards the center of the observatory where there was a perfect view of the outer space and its billions of stars. "What scientific endeavor are we engaging in, my Lord?"

Magnus placed his hands on his hips. "I had thought about your experience in the Great Ocean and how you feared those creatures that dwell there."

She raised her brow. By the throne, she hoped they were not going to travel there this instant.

"Yes. I am not a fan, unfortunately." she admitted.

"So I figured, perhaps we can teach you to get acclimated to entities from the immaterium." he spoke, and with a motion of his hand, he summoned a tutelary.

Karimah stepped back as a fiery eagle made its apperance before her.

"This is a tutelary." Magnus explained. "Or a familiar, as what they label it in Terra. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and can have a wide array of abilities upon which their masters can call in the service of research, defence, spellcasting, and more. It's technically a friend you may create."

She looked warily at the bird. She had seen the captains of the Fellowships have these with them.

"I will teach you how to conjure one." he said with confidence as he made the eagle vanish with a thought. "Perhaps you can have one at your side for protection."

Karimah nodded. "I am at your behest, my Lord."

The next several hours were spent on the Primarch teaching her, showing her how to summon one and how to bind it to her. It was no easy learning process, she realized after numerous hits and misses. He had been very patient with her, however, and she was more than appreciative of that. At one point she had accidentally summoned a cantankerous, foul-smelling imp that refused to leave, until Magnus had to force back into its homeworld. She expected him to be displeased but all she could hear from him was resounding laughter at the ridiculousness of it.

It was a wonderful sound to hear, she thought. She often seen the serious side of the Prosperan Primarch. This part of him was a rare glimpse of his other side.

"Should we postpone this endeavor for another day, my Lord?" she said, noting the late hour. She thought the Primarch may have other activities for the next day.

"Getting weary of my company now?" he asked, though sounding offended she could tell he was still enjoying watching her mishaps.

"Of course not." she replied earnestly. "Perhaps you are having too much fun with mine."

"Is that such a bad thing?" he stood up from his seated position.

"I did not say it was." she said. "I was merely concerned for your welfare. You need your rest for whatever outings you have for tomorrow."

"I am flattered to see that you care, Mistress Tahrik. But I am fully capable of sleep deprivation for several days." he took several steps closer to her.

"Karimah." she corrected. "If you wish for me to call you Magnus, then I beckon you to call me by my first name as well."

"Karimah." he spoke her name like an enchantment.

She took a deep breath as she noted how close he got to her, noting his masculine scent. She felt tiny goosebumps on her skin. She had not been in this proximity with a man for a long while...well...not a man she was having a growing fondness for, anyway. She looked up, meeting his single eye with its opalescent gaze on her. Aura reading was not her strength and the only thing she could deduce was that he was not displeased with her in the least.

"One more attempt, perhaps." he spoke at last, breaking the growing tension in the air. He took a step back. "Concentrate...and summon."

Somehow him distancing himself provided a relief for the nervous twitch in her stomach whenever he was close. She shifted her thoughts then to the task at hand.

Karimah closed her eyes, focusing, channeling her aetheric energy and summoning a creature of her choice.

Five minutes passed.

Ten.

Fifteen.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Magnus spoke.

She heard a small bark.

A warm, soft tongue, licking her toes.

Her eyes opened as she saw a small dog by her feet. An anubis in energy form, wagging its tail and running circles before her.

"Oh!" was all she could say, as she bent down and petted its head. The merry animal then bolted towards Magnus and jumped into his massive palms. It looked like a dwarf in his hands.

"Have you a fondness for dogs, Karimah?" the Primarch smiled as it started nipping on his thumb.

"Yes, my Lord." she said, glad that her last attempt had been somewhat successful. "I had one in Prospero when I was younger."

The pup barked some more as Magnus put it down, this time dashing towards her and playfully running about. Karimah laughed as it pounced on her and licked her face. However, being a creature of the immaterium all she could feel was the pressure of its tongue, not as much the drool that came with it. "I shall call you Seshat." she declared as she held it dearly. "Like my old pet."

"A fitting name." he agreed.

She put the dog down and it suddenly vanished into thin air, much to her surprise.

"You have not mastered the conjuring enough to keep it long here in realspace." he explained. "But I'm sure you will in no time. With more practice and patience."

The Remembrancer nodded in acknowledgment.

"Meantime, I believe we can call it a night." the Primarch said. "I just recalled that while I am immune to the effects of no rest, you are not."

She agreed and she allowed him to escort her back to her quarters, noting once and again that hand on her shoulders. Not that she minded it. Truth be told she actually like the contact he provided even if it was likely nothing more to him than a gesture of camaraderie.

"Thank you for the wonderful scientific endeavor, Lord Magnus." she said as they stopped in front of her quarters.

"My pleasure." he replied. "It is always rewarding for me to impart knowledge to those who are interested in it."

"And I relish the experience my Lord."

He leaned down closer, narrowing the distance between their faces and speaking in a more hushed volume. "I thought we agreed on what you were going to call me."

His proximity shot her heart rate into overdrive as it palpitated wildly. A mischievous glint was in his eye and then and there she felt that she lost her grip on her self control.

She kissed him.

On the mouth.

It was light. It was brief. And though in real time it probably lasted less than a minute she felt that it was longer than that. The Primarch's lips were pleasantly tender, and while she felt no resistance from him she was rather sure she took him by surprise.

When she pulled away she wasn't quite sure how he was going to react. He stood there, straightening up his posture, no words coming out of his mouth, but out of reflex his had touched the lips that she had bravely kissed but a few moments ago.

"Magnus." she spoke to break the disconcerting silence. "I am to call you Magnus."

"Yes." he said, still appearing a little thrown off by her actions. "I would...prefer that...Karimah."

When he said nothing, she opened the door to her quarters and slipped inside. "Good night...Magnus." she muttered. "I...I'm sorry for my..brazen actions."

He finally looked up. "Are you?" he inquired, fingers still on his mouth. "I was hoping you weren't." This time it was her who was taken back. "Good night, Karimah. I will see you on the morrow. I have books for your learning."

With out another word, he turned about and walked away.

* * *

 _ **"Is that such a bad thing?" she murmured, as the lull of sleep began to come over her. The Primarch's chest where she laid her head often was always a source of comfort for her after their sinful endeavors.**_

 _ **"They will never speak ill of me." he said as he nuzzled the top of her head. The subtle fragrance of her hair never failed to entice him. "It is you I worry about. I do not wish others to think unwell of you."**_

 _ **She raised her head but slightly, just enough to meet the tender concern in his solitary gaze." Whom? Your other lovers?" she chuckled lightly. "I think I can hold my own against your other psyker admirers for as well as you have taught me." she laughed harder when she saw his uncharacteristic scowl. "What? I suspect you keep them satisfied enough that they have no desire to claw my eyes out...yet."**_

 _ **His palm was rested on her naked bottom, and Karimah flinched when the Primarch slapped her rear end, then squealing when he clutched at it with his large hand. He proceeded to move above her, trapping her giggling form between his massive arms.**_

 _ **"You will pay for your insolence, woman." a corner of his mouth lifted. She could not contain her amusement when he started nibbling on her neck and collarbone, knowing the precise spots where she was most sensitive and inducing her to laugh mirthlessly. She tried in vain to escape his teasing mouth, pushing him away with what strength she had left...which, quite honestly, not much.**_

 _ **"Just so you know I'm not the jealous type." she finally was able to speak after catching her breath. Magnus had at this point, began to move downwards, his lips tracing a lazy path towards her midsection.**_

 _ **"As you should." he had apparently kept his word earlier, ridding her skin of the droplets of water that remained of their bath, with the gentle, teasing motions of his tongue. "You have no competition, Karimah Tahrik." he spoke in between kisses.**_

 _ **"How...reassuring...mmmmhhh..." she whimpered as her thoughts began to muddle. Magnus had reached the soft, warm area between her legs. His hands holding her thighs apart, his face burying itself in her throbbing, wet warmth. "By the thrones...haaaaah."**_

 _ **She shifted restlessly as he put his warm tongue across her lower lips, teasing, tasting, slowly delving deep into her moist recesses. The Primarch knew exactly where her trigger points were for as often as he indulged in them, and with every pressure he applied to them she thrashed in ecstasy.**_

 _ **Karimah was beside herself as Magnus ate her out. He flicked his playful tongue on the throbbing nub of her clit, sending currents of excitement through every fiber of her being. When he introduced a finger inside her, its motions mimicking the movements of his tongue, she lost it.**_

 _ **Completely.**_

 _ **Karimah screamed as she came, her essence spilling like a bursting dam upon the Primarch's mouth. He lapped at her hungrily, enthusiastically, as her orgasm upon orgasm racked her supple body. Magnus withdrew from her belly, positioning himself above her as he knelt. He lifted her quivering hips and aimed his now awakened arousal between them. He plunged into her. Quick. Hard. Powerful. He rammed into her with sudden, thrusting motions, burying as far as he could reach into her womb.**_

 _ **"M-Ma-Mag..nus..."**_

 _ **His jaw tensed, the corded muscles on his neck strained, his lower abdomen tightened as he felt his climax come on. With a howl he erupted inside her, releasing his warm essence into his lover as he kept pounding her unto the bed. His knuckles turned white, his fingers making marks on her soft flesh as he gripped her. Karimah moved restlessly as she savored his pleasure almost as it was her own.**_

 _ **Magnus shuddered as he finished, his hold on her legs wavering. He collapsed forward, using his elbows to hold himself up so he didn't crush her with his weight. Karimah cradled his face against hers, kissing him gently on the cheek as he began to fade into exhaustion.**_

 _ **"Ba hebak..."**_

* * *

 _ **Author Notes: 1/28/17**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did.**_

 _ **Thanks be to my dear friend The New Mandalord for helping me with the lore.**_

 _ **Read, review, critique but not troll.**_

 _ **Chapter 3 coming up...soon, I hope.**_


	4. Discoveries

Chapter 3

Discoveries

Author Notes:

3/10/2017

 _Hey folk. Sorry for the delay. I got stuck so many times in this fic with moving things forward. But here it is, in all its cheesy, romantic, smutty glory. Its more of the romance in this one, some smut, and hints of something terribly wrong. I hope Magnus isn't too OOC and well Karimah can't be because she's my OC (how is your OC ever OOC when you make them...but I digress.) A bunch of cameos here also. I hope you enjoy and review. Did I say I almost quit writing this because I didn't think anyone would bother reading it? Then I was reminded by some wonderful folks *coughcoughAndrew and Sarahcoughcough* the reasons on why we write things. They're my friends and they are super duper awesome! Standard disclaimers apply. I make no money (God I wish I did) out of writing this. Constructive input is most welcome. **Flaming and trolling is highly discouraged because I will hunt you down and expel your soul to the Warp (just kidding I can't do that becuase otherwise I would've sent a lot of people there already). **_

* * *

The Thousand Sons Primarch was puzzled.

If that was even the right way to describe it. Confused would probably the more appropriate term.

Subconsciously he often found his fingers tracing his lower lip.

Its been several weeks. But he could still feel her mouth pressing against his. A kiss he interpreted as an indication of her interest in him. Or attraction. Fondness. Something! It was too long and too intimate to be misconstrued as a gesture of friendship, gratitude or both. And he was quite sure she never laid her lips against Hathor Maat that way when she thanked him for teaching her.

Then she apologized afterwards, which frankly, made it all the more perplexing. Did she want to? Did she not want to? Was she confused about him as well?

The complexities of a woman's mind was something even the scholars of old were unable to explain.

He would have known more what to do if he had actual experiences of this nature. But he did not. Romantic relationships were low on a Primarch's priorities, if they have ever even given it a thought. Even so, most women gravitated towards the likes of Fulgrim or Sanguinius, his more aesthetically appealing brothers. He had his own share of admirers, however, even if they are not as numerous. But none of them had even come close to what the Prosperine Remembrancer had the bravado to do.

Kiss a Primarch out of the blue.

Now, had she not retreated and retracted, Magnus figured he may have reciprocated. Possibly. He liked Karimah Tahrik. She was a beautiful woman with her silky ebony hair, her smiling amber eyes and curves that fell in all the right places. She was an intellectual, and he always enjoyed her company. She was also a potent psyker, and he had no doubt she could hold her own once her abilities were harnessed to full capacity. Theoretically she would make a suitable wife for even the likes of a Primarch.

Wife?!

 _Why are you analyzing the woman like a book you just read?_ he scolded himself, as he put a frustrated palm against his face. Normally he didn't give things like this more than a passing thought, but on the days that he lets his guard down, this issue would creep into his head like a nagging headache.

"Are you alright, brother?"

The voice of Horus Lupercal snapped him back into reality. His brother and his Luna Wolves had been in the immediate vicinity and decided to drop by for a visit, as well as to discuss new star systems the Imperium had discovered fit for conquering. They were standing across each other in front of a star system map that Horus had just activated. Holographic images of planets rip for conquest, mineral-rich asteroid fields and untapped nebulas appeared in the empty space of the room.

"Yes, just a headache." he said, as he tried to brush the thought aside.

"You study too much." Horus joked at the Prosperan Primarch. "You should take a break from time to time. Or you will drive yourself to the ground."

"An idle mind is a dangerous thing." he replied.

"It is...but...it doesn't have to engage in academics all the time for it to be exercised." the Primarch of the Luna Wolves responded. "I've got an idea."

"Please tell me it is something I will not regret for the rest of my ten thousand years."

"Trust me on this one."

"I will judge it when I see it."

Karimah piled the books she had finished reading for the day. The last few weeks were relatively...benign so to speak. Her training did not change. It was still rigorous. It was still physically and mentally taxing. In between that and her Remembrancer duties, at the end of the day all she wanted to do was crash in bed. Magnus didn't seem to treat her differently...well...other than she has not dined with him by their lonesome since that day. The fellowship captains were there all the time now, and Mahavastu Kallimakus who took his place next to the Primarch.

That day.

The day she dared kiss Primarch Magnus.

She would be lying if she said she regretted it, for she did not. Even if she apologised to him.

He didn't seem to dislike it...she thought. He didn't push her away, or banish her to a penal colony...or anything silly like that. But he has not mentioned anything about it either.

Perhaps...this was nothing new to him. He had likely dismissed it as another admirer showing affection for the Primarch. He's probably had dozens ofwomen throw themselves at him all the time, well, whenever they can, to which he just politely turned them down at best, reprimanded them at worst.

Neither of which he has done to her.

Yet.

She tried not to let it distract her from her studies with him, although for the most part he had relegated her to reading. A _lot_ of reading. On days he would actually he teach her he had been very formal. A little more formal than she was used to. He was like that the first few weeks of their training, but that had loosened up by the end of the first month. Now it felt like they were back to square one.

Or perhaps she was just imagining things.

With a sigh she dumped the armful of books she had in her arms on the cart it came with. She pushed it unceremoniously past the hallways of the Photep, trying to remember the vast hallways that lead to Primarch Magnus' library. More than a handful of Astartes offered to push the heavy load for her but she all dismissed them, save for Hathor...who refused to take no for an answer and took it from her before she could rationalize.

"I can navigate these passages with a blindfold and two hands tied behind my back." the Pavoni joked.

"I'm certain you could, but you probably shouldn't." she laughed as he led the way. "I imagine Phosis to run into you and lead you astray."

"He will attempt to, but he will fail." Hathor boasted. "Because I am smarter, and craftier and..."

Karimah hushed him as they approached the door to the library. He opened the door for her with his mind and they proceeded inside. They instead communicated telepathically as they made turns into corners around the bookshelves, only to be stalled by the two figures seated on a table playing what appears to be a version of the old Terran game of chess.

Lord Magnus and his brother Lord Horus Lupercal.

"Uh-oh. We best not disturb them." she mentally spoke to Hathor.

"Here, you can go, I'll put these books away. " he told her telepathically.

"Oh hush. They are my responsibility." she said in return. "But thank you for your help, Hathor. I really appreciate it."

"But they're big and clunky. Can't risk them falling on you when you stack them up where they belong."

"I can certainly use the telekinesis you showed me." she elbowed him as he insisted on taking them. "I am no wimp."

At that very moment the Prosperan Primarch looked up, his gaze affixed on them as though reprimanding them for causing a ruckus.

Even if neither of them spoke a word.

Hathor smiled sheepishly before nodding at his Primarch and slowly backing off. "I will see you at the evening meal, Karimah." he communicated with his mind before rushing off to leave her be.

Karimah smiled at the Pavoni as he exited. "See you later, Hathor." she turned to see the Primarch was now focused on his game.

But his aura told her he was displeased with her.

 _Maybe he thinks you're trying to corrupt his Fellowship captain now_ , she thought with a bit of irritation, eyes rolling to the ceiling. _I'm not as bad as you think, you silly Primarch._

Just as this crossed her mind, Magnus looked up from his game. He was about to verbally respond when Horus turned to look where his brother had glanced.

"Greetings!" Horus _w_ as genuinely surprised, as he seemed to be rather ensconced in his game. The Primarch stood up and acknowledged her. "I apologize for not noticing your presence, My Lady."

"Mistress Karimah Tahrik, from Prospero." Magnus interrupted as he stood up, stretching to his full height as he introduced her to his brother. "One of our Remembrancers." he turned to Horus who graciously shook her hand.

"A pleasure to meet you, my Lord." Karimah smiled warmly at the Emperor's favored son, who kissed her hand in turn, much to her surprise and setting her cheeks aflame.

"The pleasure is mine." Horus said. His gaze had swept her, noting the royal sigil on the family heirloom she wore on her neck. He turned to his brother as he raised his hand in question. "And what favor did you do unto our Father that you get a beautiful noble for a Remembrancer?"

Magnus at this point had already sat back down and had his focus again at their game. "Much as he would like you to believe you are the favored son, secretly that title belongs to me." he smirked, to which the other Primarch laughed.

"You can believe that if you wish." Horus laughed as he turned to Karimah. "Your name rings a bell my lady...I believe my brother here had mentioned you quite often in the last several hours we were playing here."

"Once or twice." Magnus corrected, seemingly ignoring the two of them as he was looking over the black and white ivory pieces and determining his next move. "She's the student I told you about."

"I see." Horus nodded. At his point she noticed the Primarch was still holding her hand. "I apologize for interrupting your activities, my Lady. Allow me to return to my brother's game. But I would like to have the pleasure of your company for the evening feast?"

"The honor is mine, Lord Horus." she acknowledged as he released her and sat back down. Karimah restored her attention to her books as she started placing them in the bookshelf directly behind the Crimson King.

Magnus picked the rook on his board and moved it forward. "If you focused on your game instead of outside distractions, you may actually win for once, brother."

"Oh but I am focused." the other Primarch replied as he blocked the piece Magnus had just placed. "It is you who appears distracted."

Karimah glanced over just as the red Primarch moved his Queen piece and took Horus' knight off the table. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, my Lord."

The latter cast her but a fleeting look. "Your input is much appreciated, Mistress Tahrik, but I have played this numerous times against Lupercal here, and I have yet to lose."

Horus was grinning ear to ear. "There's a first time for everything." he said as he moved his Bishop to the vacated spot of Magnus' queen, putting him in a winning situation. "Checkmate."

Magnus' jaw dropped.

His King was cornered. There was no other place to go to.

Karimah tried not to snicker _. I told you so_ , she thought as she shook her head.

"Another round?" the master of the Luna Wolves challenged the Prosperan Primarch as the latter conceeded defeat.

"Don't push your luck, Lupercal." Magnus said as he stood up, the jest in his tone somewhat forced. "Now excuse me as I prepare for the evening meal."

He turned about, seemingly in a huff, leaving Karimah holding a thick volume of a book about Pyromancy, and Horus with a smug grin on his features.

"I think he likes you." Horus turned to her.

She crinkled her nose at the Luna Wolves Primarch. "He tolerates me." she replied drily.

"My brother can be clueless about women." the Primarch shrugged. "For as intelligent as he is, he can be a little dense...and very, very obstinate."

"I concur." was all she said as she replaced the last of the books. "I shall see you at dinner, my Lord."

"I look forward to it." Horus bid her adieu as she exited the library.

Karimah picked her Sunday best to wear to the feast that night, as they were having honored guests of Lord Horus Lupercal and his Mournival. A form-fitting gold tunic dress of the finest silk, embellished with rubies on each shoulder, with a loose belt that was made of smaller rubies and formed a "Y" on her waist. It was a a present from her Mother when she finished her Masters at the Scholas on Terra. It matched the gems of her necklace. She had rare occassions to wear it. Now was such a time. She put her hair up on a loose bun atop her head, letting soft, wavy tendrils fall on either side of her face, the back of her hair held by a jeweled clasp that matched all her finery. She also had a pair of cuff bracelets and teardrop earrings that boasted the blood red gem as their main ornament. She turned several times in the mirror, appreciating the look before she stepped out to head to the Banquet hall.

"You look like the Queen of Prospero." the Pavoni captain greeted her at the door, escorting her to be seated next to Horus Lupercal, as the latter had requested.

"You and your honeyed tongue, Hathor. You must've charmed all the ladies before you were Astartes." she replied in jest.

"I speak only of the truth." he winked connivingly at her before taking leave to go to his own seat. "I envy the warriors who have the honor of sitting beside you."

Magnus cast a quick glance at her, echoing his fellowship captain's sentiment. He had seen her walk through the door, looking like an ancient Terran queen of the Niles. When she took the seat between his brother Horus and one of his Mournivals, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

Perhaps even _**a lot**_ annoyed.

Karimah seemed to have felt his disdain, as at that very moment she choose to look his way and smiled.

She took his breath away.

He banished the thought as quickly as it came. He cleared his throat and focused at the task at hand.

The Primarch stood up to welcome his guests to the evening meal. Magnus made a brief, concise address to the audience with his fine oratory skills. Karimah gazed at him with unabashed admiration.

Much as she hated to admit it, she can only be aggravated with him for so long.

Plus the fact that he looked rather dashing tonight made it difficult for her to completely despise him. Dressed in some of his best regalia, a tunic of purest white with a matching handcrafted robe in gold and crimson red and trimmed with sable. He had a wide, leather belt, to which his tome was chained. His red mane was neatly tucked in braids that cascaded down his massive back.

Damn the man and her ridiculous crush on him. If it was just that.

She was flanked by Horus on her left, an Astartes named Tarik Torgaddon on her right. They kept her company throughout the meal, and she almost couldn't finish a spoonful without laughing at something they had said. They regaled her with their war stories, cracked her up with their jokes, Torgaddon apparently a bit of a prankster, relatively rare for an Astartes. Horus was charming to say the least, she thought, living up to the reputation that preceeded him. The evening meal had extended longer than it usually ran for, and Magnus had to call it a night for all, as it was getting late.

Karimah bid her farewells to all the Astartes present as she made her way back to her own room. She had barely taken ten steps when she received a telepathic message.

 _Mistress Tahrik, if you could meet me at the observatory in half an hour, I would appreciate it._

 _Yes, my Lord._

She was being summoned by her Primarch.

A sense of foreboding came over her.

Which she shrugged off without a second thought.

 _What will be, will be._ She reassured herself.

In her head she tried to envision every single plausibility of why he would ask her to meet up with him. She doesn't recall anything particularly embarassing she did during the evening feast, even as she caught him stealing glances at her with the most disapproving look on his typically passive face. The Primarch was usually stonefaced, concealing whatever he felt underneath a gentle facade.

Not tonight, however. He was aggravated by something and he was making absolutely no effort to hide it.

 _I'm in trouble._

Magnus turned as she entered the Observatory. She had taken off most of her jewelry and undone her hair, but still had on her attire from the evening meal, appearing as radiant now as she did earlier. He would be lying if he didn't acknowledge that he found her mesmerizing. She shot him a questioning look when her line of vision met his, but it soon changed when she caught sight of the chess table and two chairs in the middle of the Observatory.

But there was more than that.

Beside the chess set-up was a cart of delicacies. Exotic fruit. Pastries. Various sweets covered in white, milk, and dark chocolate in a bowl whose emblem she recognized as one of the finest in Prospero. A decanter of chilled, red wine that was equal, if not better in quality than the one they were served during dinner sat next to the food . On the middle of the cart was a bouquet of blush-tinted roses that filled the otherwise sterile air with a subtle, tender fragrance.

Karimah could not help but be amused. The hopeless romantic in her was tickled pink with the atmosphere she was in. It almost looked like a set-up for a date. Of course the more practical side of her rationalized that this was likely nothing out of the ordinary for the Primarch. Perhaps his servitors were programmed to do this when he had female company, regardless of who they were.

All at the same time she was giddy and jealous.

"Care for a game against me, Mistress Tahrik?" his words broke her thoughts.

Karimah smiled. Is this what he invited her here for?

The Primarch seemed to loosen up a bit, as his shoulders relaxed, the corners of his mouth lifting in amusement. "If you are going to lecture me about my moves against Horus, I figured you can step up to the challenge."

She took the chair across the ebony pieces, putting her elbows on the table and looking back up at him, raising a brow as she did. "Game on."

An hour passed. Two. Three.

The match kept hitting a stalemate.

The Primarch was challenged. He had to admit she was pretty good at this game. She certainly gave him quite a contest, almost matching him piece for piece. They just had about equal casualties on their sides.

Magnus was struggling against the temptation to read her thoughts behind the conspiring little smile she was hiding behind the sips of wine and bites of chocolate. He wanted to tap behind those amber eyes that stole glances at him. It wouldn't take any effort at all for him to do so, but he felt that he would be violating her privacy.

Besides, he didn't want to make her self-conscious. The drink seemed to make her more at ease with him already. He didn't want her to keep her guard up all the time as she had seemed to be doing lately.

A corner of his own mouth lifted as he took another gulp. He's already had plenty to drink during dinner, but he felt the need to imbibe more to let his defenses down as well. He's crisscrossed between trying to keep his regal facade and letting her see his other side...which to him made no logical sense and yet somehow felt the right thing to do.

Right?

"So...did he meet your expectations?" he spoke at some point in the middle of their match. For a long while they had nothing but a peaceful stillness between them other than the clinking of wine glasses and the consumption of food.

She looked up from the chessboard. "Whom are you referring to, my Lord?"

"Horus." he said as he moved a bishop to take her pawn. "You said you always wanted to meet him."

"I do." she smiled as she trapped his bishop with her knight. "He certainly lives up to his name."

Magnus straightened up, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I can see you enjoyed his company, as well as that of one of his Mournivals."

She glanced at him as he said that, and for a moment she thought she saw a flicker of red in his single eye. "Not any more than I enjoy yours, my Lord."

The Primarch didn't expect her answer, but he did crack a small smile at her. "The feeling is mutual." was all he could come up with.

Karimah shifted her gaze to the chess pieces so he would not see the flare in her cheeks. She moved her knight closer to Magnus' monarch.

But then the Crimson King saw his opportunity.

"Checkmate." he said, pushing his rook forward within striking distance of her King.

A displeased look lit up her face. "Lucky." she spoke as she conceeded defeat.

He took her King off the board as he grunted. "Strategy. Not Luck."

"Really?" she said as he motioned to stand up to end the game. "Then you wouldn't mind another game to see if your...strategy holds up?"

"I would think you are exhausted by now. It has been a long day." he noted the late hour.

"I am." she admitted as she stood up from the chess table. "It does not mean I cannot challenge you another day. Your luck cannot run forever."

He shook his head as he laughed. "It won't, but I believe I have more than luck on my side."

She shrugged. "True...you have the power of the aether." A thought crossed her mind as she put her hands on her hips. "And how do I know you didn't use that to win this round?"

"How do I know you didn't use your abilities as well?" he challenged. He would normally have been insulted that she was insinuating he did not win fairly, but at this moment he was more amused than anything at her ridiculous accusation.

"You are a significantly more powerful Psyker than I will ever be." she pointed out, failing to hide the false indignation in her voice. "You can block me from reading your thoughts but there is no way in this lifetime, or the next, that I can ever block you from reading mine."

"Do you truly think that I would use my powers for a simple game of chess?"

"Would you?"

Magnus didn't know whether to laugh or be infuriated.

The woman truly knew how to ruffle his feathers.

The Primarch put both hands on his hips. "We could arrange before either match that we are either allowed to both use our abilities without blocking the other, or that neither of us shall use it all."

"I vote for the latter." she said.

"I don't need it to be victorious."

"You have but one notch on your belt." she said, wrinkling her nose and crossing her arms. "I will believe it when you prove it."

Magnus narrowed the distance between them, stepping so close he was but a foot, maybe less, before her. "Do you know how much trouble you are asking for by speaking to a Primarch of the Imperium like that?"

She met his single eye with her own, tilting her face upwards, a look of defiance in her features. "And how much trouble am I in exactly?'

The Primarch took her face in his hands and kissed her.

It was not a brief, light one either.

Magnus pressed his mouth against her lips, kissing her gently, tenderly, and she found herself partially opening her mouth to recieve him. Out of her own accord, the hands across her chest fell to her side for a few seconds before they found their way along the Primarch's waist, as she drew her body close to his.

She was almost out of breath when he finally let her go. He pulled away slowly, creating a few inches between them, his palms still on her cheeks, her arms still around his waist.

Karimah opened her eyes, finding him tenderly looking at her, his single eye flickering with the color of warmth. She subconsciously licked her lips. "Was that my...punishment?"

He chuckled, detecting the jest in her voice. "If that's what you wish to call it...yes."

"I do recall breaking a few more rules that need some disciplining..." she said as she drew closer to him again, returning the favor and brushing her lips with his once more.

Magnus began to feel the heat. From their kiss it traversed throughout his being like a slow tide. It was a pleasant warmth, sweet and tender, sending goosebumps to his skin. He drew her to him, her chest pressing against his. He felt as though he could not get close enough to her, like he wanted to feel her pure skin against his own. The thin fabrics of their clothing felt like a cumbersome barrier which he itched to get rid off.

She pulled away, sensing his thoughts, acknowledging that she felt the same way.

"My Lord, I..."

"Magnus." he corrected her softly as the back of his hand caressed her cheek."Or are you asking for more reprimanding?"

She stopped his hand and planted a small kiss on it. "Magnus...I'm afraid that I may want more than you can give me..." she confessed.

"How is that possible?" he asked. "I am a Primarch of the Imperium of Man...short of you wanting the throne I..."

"That's not what I meant." she admitted, shyly averting her eyes from him. Her line of vision moved to his belt, which she slid her index finger on, tugging suggestively. "You...I...I want you, Magnus the Red...I have...for a while now."

It didn't take a psyker to feel the shock that overcame the Primarch with her admission. Even Karimah herself was surprised at the words that tumbled out of her mouth.

She basically threw herself at him, without shame, without reservations.

And she regretted it not one bit.

Even if he would turn her down. She didn't care. She wanted him to know.

Magnus was a master of words, an oratorical genius by all accounts. But at this very moment, the honest words of this slight, mortal woman rendered him virtually speechless.

He brushed an errant strand of her hair, his single gaze meeting her amber ones, noting the fire he had lit in them. He cupped her cheek, caressing tenderly.

He would be lying if he said he didn't want her. Because he did. Quite badly too. He had been in denial for months, mostly because he thought he was beyond mundane human cravings. But when he witnessed her enjoying the company of another man, he realized he did not want to lose the chance.

"Karimah." he murmured as he traced her moist, soft lips with his fingers.

Then it came.

A vision. A carnal vision. Playing in the recesses of the remembrancer's subconscious, it opened like a floodgate and it bombarded the Primarch's inner eye of lascivious behaviors and physical pleasure that would render even the most sinful of minds disconcerted.

She had allowed him inside her mind...invited him in, to be exact, gave him access to her deepest desires.

She pulled away from his embrace, smiling wickedly as she knew what he was seeing. She was rather hellbent on concealing her thoughts at first but realized she was past the point of embarrassment. She had stated her case, confessed her sins, and the ball was in his court on whether he wanted to act on it or not.

His eye flickered, changing colors. At first it was that of bright embers, burning as deeply as his skin, perhaps even brighter. But that had only lasted a few seconds before it turned into a softer, more subdued hue.

"I..." he stammered for a bit, which was rather unusual for him. But then again he had not gotten himself in this predicament before...at least not this far.

Karimah did not need any psyker abilities to know. "You cannot?" she finished his sentence for him. She was still for but a minute, allowing the raging heat inside her to subside a little "I understand my Lord..."

Before she could completely move away, Magnus took hold of her wrist, "I want you." he spoke, a slight tension in his jaw. "It would be untruthful of me to say that I did not want to explore every inch of you...feel your skin against mine...I cannot deny that...I have felt this way for a while now. Make no mistake that I want this as much as you do...even more perhaps." His gaze swept her form, the colors that danced in his eye that told her he was struggling for words. "My great fear is of hurting you in the process...I am afraid of breaking you." he confessed. "I am not a slight man by any means. "

The remembrancer met her Primarch's gaze. He was sincere in his words, that much she could tell.

Word was it that the Crimson King was much larger than he projects himself to be. To the unsuspecting eye he was not much taller than Ahzek Ahriman, but it was told that he towered even amongst his Primarch brothers in stature. Understandably so that he would concern himself bedding a mere mortal that she would not be able to take it. Not physically anyway.

 _You just had to have a thing for a Primarch when there's plenty of men your size around,_ she scolded herself as she stepped further back. "I'll see you on the morrow, my Lord...or...make that in a few hours...sleep well."

Against her better judgment, Karimah approached the Primarch one more time, caressing his cheek and kissing him again, albeit briefly this time. She didn't think she could change his mind with it at all but she just... wanted to. She turned about and walked towards her quarters. All the while wondering if he was still going to train her or if he was going to relegate those duties to Hathor again.

Magnus took a deep breath as he wished her a good night, not certain if she heard him as her back was already turned. He was rather angry...at himself for the most part. Not for being the sizeable primarch that he was, but for the fact he turned her away without even thinking of a solution to this...dilemma. His body was still physically aroused from their contact and truth be told had he merely acted on impulse he would have had her naked in his bed at this very moment, making sinful sounds and calling his name out in bliss.

The Crimson King rubbed a frustrated palm against his face for the second time today. Over the same damned issue...except he felt he dug himself into a deeper hole this time.

 _You just had to kiss her, didn't you Magnus? You just had to feel those lips again. Feel that warm tongue against yours. Have that pliant body arching against you? Just had to..._

The Primarch doubted he was going to sleep at all.

* * *

"Do you really think consorting with a Primarch is going to save you?"

"No...not really. That wasn't part of my agenda. Call it a...pleasant sidetrack of my adventurous endeavors. It would be nice if it was plausible, but my instinct is that it wouldn't have affected it either way."

"Your sharp tongue has not faltered through the years, has it?"

"It's genetic I'm afraid, not much can do about that...but it has saved me on numerous occassions whether I intended it or not."

"He cannot rescue you. He could not even save his own spawn."

"I figured as much. Which is why you will leave my Lord alone. This is between you and me."

The other voice laughed maniacally. "You learned your lesson with that impudent Terran, I suspect. Did he promise to save your doomed soul?"

"Ah, Marcus was not that delusional...my purposes of eloping from Prospero was mostly of teenage romantic notions...and perhaps my own hopes of thinking I can get away from this wonderful dilemma you put me in."

"There is no escape!"

"Tell me something I don't know." Karimah answered sharply. "Now if you would kindly release my neck...I know it probably would not leave a mark but if it does, I will have some explaining to do."

The dark figure that held her captive tightened its grip, as she felt the air come through wheezing from her windpipe. "I could destroy you, here and now."

"You could." she managed to squeak. "But one, you need me alive. Two, I do have a few good friends from the Thousand Sons who may not be pleased seeing me dead...they just may try to hunt you down."

"Your Primarch and his hellspawn are nothing against me."

"If you truly believed that, you would have gone to the Photep and taken me in broad daylight in front of the entire legion...but as it is, you had to wait for me to leave my ethereal form alone and jump me here in the Immaterium where I am a helpless little jellyfish wading in the Great Ocean."

"I should just cut out your tongue."

"That would not stop my mind from telepathically telling you how pathetic you are."

Seshat, Karimah's tutelary, raised his fluffy canine head. He had been sleeping at his mistress' foot and had been awakened by a sense of distress. Karimah was asleep...or seemingly so. She was laying still...too still. Her breathing was shallow, rapid...and her forehead started to sweat profusely. The pup jumped on her, investigating somewhat as her limbs started to quiver in seizurelike movement. The area around her neck seemed to constrict. Her color began to turn ashen. The tutelary whimpered, running in circles around her as it could sense trouble. Without hesitation it made for the door and took off to seek help.

"Not this again..." Karimah cried as she released a combination of lightning and fire from her hands, trying to release herself from her captor. The entity kept its hold on her neck however, squeezing slowly, as though enjoying her loss of color on her face. She didn't think it was going to end her then and there, it just had this habit of assaulting her given the chance...which, quite frankly, it never had much of...not in the last year since she had joined the Thousand Sons as a remembrancer. Much as the entity had claimed it did not fear them, it never attempted to attack her in their presence.

"Getting stronger eh?" the creature taunted as its fingers started to burn. "Did your Lord teach you this in exchange for your body?"

"Leave...Lord Magnus...out of this!" she exploded, releasing a ball of fire from her person and injuring her captor.

"Your fate is sealed!" it cried out as it fleed, still burning in the ethereal flame she threw against it. "There is no way out!"

As though on cue, the creatures of the immaterium appeared, quickly materializing in the air and making their way towards her. Karimah realized the explosive power she released may have attracted them like a beacon of light to insects. She knew better control of her abilities now and though she expelled a great amount of strength from the powerful blast she drew, she wasn't going to go down that easy.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled at them, wrapping a kine shield around herself and firing at them simultaneously with bolts of lightning. "Can a woman not wander aimlessly in this Great Ocean without being ambushed?"

"You and your uncanny appeal to ravenous creatures. It's almost like an art from."

From behind her Magnus manifested and with but a swipe of his hand the spirits of the Immaterium dissipated in wild fear. He banished them with a mere thought, sending them into a slow, painful demise. The more aggressively they came, the more brutal the assault he laid upon them. The Primarch shoved them effortlessly aside, as one would swipe a bug off one's clothes.

She assisted him with aetheric powers she drew from within, although quite honestly she didn't think he would need it.

"What manner of trouble are you getting into now?" he scolded her as soon as he had cleared the air of every spirit there was.

She had rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to soothe the spot where she had been strangled. "Apologies, my Lord...I just had to find some alone time for thinking...is all."

Magnus noted the claw marks around her throat. "Which of these sad little imps did this to you? I can always bring them back in for a more suitable punishment."

His fingers had found themselves on a tender spot on her neck, making her flinch...but it was not from pain. "There is no need for that." she reassured him. "It has been dealt with..."

His thumb was rubbing the injured spot, and Karimah tried not to be affected by his caring gesture. It may have only been several hours since she had walked away from his rejection, but she knew that she should not feel this way towards him. She knew how to take no for an answer and she was not one to force herself on anybody, much less a Primarch.

"Did they hurt you?"

The tenderness in his voice and the concern in his single eye appealed to her senses, even if she had repeatedly told herself Magnus the Red was something she just had to get over. "Not like they used to." she managed to smile as she motioned to push his hand away from her neck. "I'm quite alright, Lord Magnus."

"You should not be coming here on your lonesome." he lectured, his hand not budging from where he was touching her. "Its not safe with the level of your training."

"I apologize my Lord." she said in repentance. "I just needed somewhere to go to clear my thoughts."

"Stop making me worry." he cupped her cheek now, rubbing it with his thumb. "I care about you...do you not comprehend that?"

Before she could asnwer he had pulled her into his embrace. Karimah was a little surprised but she did not resist.

Even here she could feel his warmth as she subconsciously wrapped her arms around his waist. Her head leaned on his chest where she could hear the reassuring beats of his heart. It was beyond comforting. He rested his chin against the top of her head.

"How did you find me?" she inquired as she looked up at him.

"Seshat came into my quarters." he responded as he reached out to stroke her hair. "He was restless and whining. I figured there was something wrong."

"The little mongrel." she grumbled. "He needn't disturb you. I could take care of myself."

"I'm certain you can. But I don't mind playing the knight-in-shining-armor from time to time."

"Thank you for saving this damsel-in-distress then." she smiled at him, withdrawing from his embrace. Karimah knew if she held on to him any longer she would be tempted again. The Crimson King had awoken long dormant fires inside of her. Burning embers that if stoked more would bring on full blown flames. He had already told her off once, and she was not going to push it.

"You're welcome." he said quietly. Magnus held on to her firmly, losing the battle inside his head to let her go. Holding her in his arms felt so natural and so comforting. "I would like to show you something. Come with me."

He held her hand as he guided her through the waves of the Great Ocean. They were side by side, his grip on her tight as though he was worried he was going to lose her in the tides. Karimah had never stayed this long or ventured this far in the Immaterium. She had always been wary of the malicious creature who taunted her for many years and avoided it best she can. Back when she had no control of her ability to cross the Immaterium she was easy prey for it, dragging her there as it saw fit. But since she had learned to control it it could not access it quite as easily.

"We are here." Magnus guided her down to what appears to be a floating isle. It settled on orbit across a bigger planet, like the position a moon would take. On closer landing it was like a forest clearing. Caves, ponds, some strange flora scattered about. A cavelike structure was nearby on the foot of a hill, although on closer inspection parts of it appeared was towards that structure that Magnus led her to.

"Amazing..." was the first word out of her mouth. Outside it looked nothing more than a nondescript formation at the foot of a hill, but inside it was a spacious retreat, a replica of the Primarch's quarters on the Photep. The ceilings were made of reinforced glass, looking out to the emptiness of space and its blanket of stars. The floors were built of marble that mimicked the ones taken from the quarries in Prospero. The walls have carved in bookshelves lined with hardbound books and manuscripts. There was a sizeable four poster bed whose elegance matched that of the Primarch who rested on it. A huge study desk filled with maps and more books sat in one corner, and a tub the size of a small pool on the other side of the room. In the middle of it all was a mat that appeared to be fit for meditation.

"This is my sanctuary." Magnus declared. "I built this a while back...a place to meditate...escape the troubles of the world." he motioned to the grandiosity of the room. "I don't come quite as often as I would like." he turned to her astounded form. "You have the dubious honor of being the only other person to see this place...my little corner of the Immaterium." he laughed a little.

"I am much, much honored, my Lord." she said as she walked around, admiring the archeological pieces displayed on the mantle.

"You are welcome to come here.." he announced, making her turn her head in surprise."If you ever need time to yourself, Karimah, this is a safe refuge. The wards built in here repel the inhabitants of the Great Ocean."

"My Lord I can't..."

"Please." he walked closer to her. 'It will make me more at ease to know you are not getting assaulted by monsters out there...given as they seem to be attracted to you like moths to a flame."

She laughed at the truth of his insinuation. "Too true..." she replied. "Me and my appeal to vicious predators...I must have a tattoo on my forehead saying 'Attack me'."

"I am here if you need protection from predators." he offered genuinely.

Once and again the concern in his voice beckoned to her sensibilities. She had to remind herself that whatever she had for him was going to go nowhere and she best be treating him as platonically as she can.

"I can take care of myself my Lord. I have so in the last decade." she said as she motioned to touch one of the elaborate marble sculptures on the bookshelf. She was genuinely surprised when the birdlike statue felt warm to the touch. "Oh." She did a double take, her eyes squinting before she reached over to touch it again. It was indeed warm, in stark constrast to what would be expected of its material. "Fascinating."

"If there is one thing you should know of the Great Ocean...none of the rules of the materium apply here." he spoke. "What should make sense, does not always do."

"I see." she murmured as she pulled a book off the shelf. As she did, another book reappeared to take its place. She pulled out another one, and this did the same. The more books she took off the shelf, the more appeared to fill the gap. "How in Terra's name...?" she turned to the pile she was holding now, and when she picked one up to shove it back on the shelf, the book fit right in with no effort of hers to push everything else aside."How...what?"

Magnus laughed at her shock as she put the rest of the pile back on the shelves. The books seemed to have a mind of their own, as they accomodated to let what she took out back in. Karimah was stumped.

"Try the water." Magnus referred to the bathtub at the other end of the room. She walked over, turned the faucet on and let the warm water flow. She placed her fingers thru the stream and felt the unusual consistency of the drops. The water was fragrant, even without any scented soaps or bath salts in it. And as the droplets touched the surface of the tub they seemed to flow backward...forward...with no specific pattern to follow. It was quite a sight to look at.

"Its astounding." she said, smiling at the Primarch who was settled on the chair behind the gigantic desk. "I can stay here all day and just...explore in wonder."

"You can." he laughed at her childlike fascination.

"I may never leave." she joked as she gandered at the tub water again, this time changing colors with the change of the temperature. "Don't tempt me or you may lose your sanctuary."

"I'm not opposed to sharing." he shrugged his shoulders in amusement. "I hope you don't snore or steal blankets."

She blushed at the Primarch's comment. That was not what she was hinting at at all but it elicited a flush on her cheeks, especially as she noted the mischief that twinkled in his eye.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she volleyed back in jest. She stood up from the tub and sauntered towards him, taking a seat on the chair across his desk..

"I would, actually." he said as leaned forward, closing the distance between them.

Then and there Karimah felt her heart skip erratically, yet again.

His proximity was disconcerting, and the manner in which he spoke, as though he was more than flirting, made it all the more so.

"You can always just read my mind and find out...if I do snore and steal blankets." she offered nonchalantly.

"I could." a slow smile began to from on his mouth. "But where's the fun in that?"

"Oh I can assure you my mind is a very interesting thing to investigate."

"I have no doubt that it is."

She straightened up in an attempt to dissipate the tension in the air. She would be lying if she didn't admit that she longed to kiss him again, feel his taut body against hers, bask in the warmth of his firm but tender embrace. She dared looking into his single eye that was now reflecting the same colors he had on when they were in the Observatory. Warm and tender, with an underlying fire that seemed to be slowly increasing in intensity.

"Stop reading my mind, Lord Magnus." she murmured, wondering if indeed he was seeing inside her head. "You may not like what you see."

"But I do like what I see..." he replied. "You're good at sharing blankets and you do not snore."

'It depends..." she swallowed. "Who I'm sharing the blanket with." She had an inkling she knew where this was likely headed. Her mind and body battled frantically, debating on whether to remind herself of his earlier stance or to give in to the physical ache brewing so strongly within her. Subconsciously she licked her lower lip before meeting the Primarch's single gaze. "Especially when the other person takes up so much of that space."

A corner of the Primarch's mouth lifted. "That would not matter in the least. Size is irrelevant in the Immaterium. Your blanket argument is therefore thrown out the window."

That statement seemed to have lit a bulb in Karimah's head. "Is that a proven fact?"

A spark lit Magnus' solitary eye. He seemed to have thought the same thing. "For the most part. It does not mean it cannot be subject to experimentation."

"Would you mind being a test subject?"

"Only if you would be the one conducting the scientific endeavor."

"I have a hypothesis in mind..." she stated as an inquisitive look appeared on her features.

"I am all ears." Magnus had an inkling on where this was leading to, and for a second he berated himself on not thinking of it to begin with.

"If size does not matter here..."

"As I stated, there are no hard and fast rules in the Great Ocean."

"Then consequence of size discrepancies should not matter in the least."

"Very plausible."

"Shall we try it?" she leaned closer to the Primarch as she posed this question.

A corner of his mouth lifted. "That is a rhetorical question, is it not?"

It was not clear who initiated the kiss, but the Remembrancer and the Primarch found themselves entangled in a tender embrace, their lips hungry for each other, thier hands eagerly exploring the others body.

Magnus was still in the white tunic he had on at dinner, sans the cape and the headpiece, while Karimah was in a her sleeping attire, a simple nightdress that was no thicker than papyrus. When their bodies came in contact the fabric of their clothing felt like a cumbersome barrier, the heat between them suffusing through.

The Primarch at that point had thrown caution to the wind. He had been up the last few hours, the scenario in the Observatory replaying itself in his head, over and over. He had gone through a multitude of emotions over it. Anger. Sadness. Confusion. Desire. He did not particularly care for being thrown in mental turmoil like that whole event had done to him. He needed an answer. A solution. He had been pondering on that when Karimah's tutelary rushed into his quarters barking madly. He had rushed to her bedroom and found her ethereal form struggling for air and he made a mad dash to rescue her in the Immaterium where she had been attacked.

He can't lose her. He did not want to. Not to another man. Not to monsters in the Great Ocean. He wanted to have her with him, safe, protected, cared for.

The Primarch lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bed. A small sound came from her mouth when the cool, silken sheets made contact with her skin as he laid her on it. Magnus moved above her, his mouth not releasing hers, as he somewhat trapped her form between his massive arms. He was breathing heavily by the time he pulled away. Karimah was panting, her lips tender from his kisses, her eyes burned with want as she met Magnus' eye.

"What if this experiment goes awry? Are you not concerned?" he spoke as he brushed an errand strand of hair from her face.

"Then I suppose I shall put my biomancy and healing knowledge to good use." she smiled at him reassuringly. "Either that or we're going to have to invent a plausible story to tell your Apothecary."

"I think not."

Magnus reached over to undo the ties of her silk nightdress with Karimah observing his every move. It was like he was unwrapping a present.

A very sumptuous present.

When he finally divested her of her outfit he could not help but feel his mouth water.

Karimah Tahrik was as magnificent as he had imagined. Perhaps even more so.

In the subdued lighting of his bedroom her skin was the color of warm honey. Her aura of heated desire almost made her glow. He found himself tracing the silky smoothness of her naked shoulder. His eye then wandered over the voluptousness of her breasts that beckoned to him with their turgid peaks. He reached out, cupping them in his large hands, feeling their supple fullness with his palms.

"Oh." Karimah bit her lip when he fondled her. She bit her lips when he bent down to nuzzle them gently. She slipped her fingers through the thick strands of his crimson hair, pushing him closer to her chest as his mouth and tongue started tracing patterns across it.

Magnus indulged on her chest, savoring the taste and feel of her bosom as she writhed beneath him. She crossed her legs together as she began to feel the warm tingling between them. The Primarch pulled away slightly, his eye sweeping her still somewhat dressed form. She saw the flicker in them, a burning ember she had seen before, albeit not this intensely.

"My imagination does you no justice." he spoke as he caressed her velvety thighs.

She raised a brow at his confession. "Am I to take that as my current state of undress has been something that has crossed your mind?"

"More than I would admit to." ha laughed throatily as he planted brief kisses on her face, then tracing his lips along the line of her jaw. His hands explored her, as she felt her body temperature rise with every area he covered. When he got hold of the last remnants of her clothing, he hooked a finger on it before yanking it down. "White lace looks good on you." he whispered in her ear.

"Does it?" she replied as she started to squirm underneath him, her body heat rising to almost uncomfortable levels.

"Truly...but it is even better off of you." he paused to nuzzle the crook of her neck, nibbling a path down her throat and between her breasts. He pulled away, his single eye doing a visual caress of her naked body. He reached down to move her legs apart, his line of sight focusing on the throbbing delta between her legs.

"Magnus..." she felt as though his gaze held some form of current that traversed her body as he looked her over. "Aaaaahhhh..."

She whimpered as she felt his fingers trace the shape of her lower lips. She had been wet long before he had even taken her clothes off, and the grin on his face showed that he knew of this.

"I am quite flattered that you desire me this much." he said as he rubbed the wet lips of her sex. His heightened senses allowed him to feel every little reaction of her body to his touch.

"Touche..." she spoke through gritted teeth. She arched when she felt his finger infiltrate her wet warmth.

The Primarch had undressed at some point, but still had his loin cloth on, but she could tell from its outlines how aroused he already was. Magnus' attention was briefly distracted when he felt the loincloth sliding down his hips without anything visibly moving it.

"I can see you're using your learning." he said as he straightened up to discard the last piece of clothing that covered him.

"I learned from the best." she gasped as he inserted a second finger inside her, drawing out more of her feminine moisture. She bit her lip as her eyes were drawn to the Primarch's manhood which was completely aroused.

He was more endowed that she had thought.

Significantly more endowed.

"Oh." she whimpered when she felt his thumb caress her most sensitive nub. He pressed upon it, applying a pressure that sent a million little nerve endings tingling with delight. Her nipples tightened in excitement, as well as the pit of her stomach. The muscles of her legs tensed, her toes curled, and she felt as though she was in the precipice of an orgasm.

"Magnus..." she whimpered as he started to slide his fingers in and out of her, pushing in as deep as she would allow him. Her lower muscles tightened around his fingers as he infiltrated her. She arched her back, mumbling incoherently as he bent his head, taking her perked breast into his mouth. "Gaaaaah..." she squealed as he swirled his tongue around her firm nipple, nibbling, sucking. His mouth matched the rhythm on his fingers, and the Primarch could tell that she was getting close to climaxing as he felt every ounce of pleasure that currently rattled her body.

The Primarch was no stranger to carnal pleasure. He's had his share of short flings that went completely nowhere, mostly on his part, as he had other interests that he put above physical need. That and...well, the discrepancy of his stature and his then partners were another point of contention. They were too fragile and had worried on occasion that he would accidentally crush them, thus putting a halt to anything that went more than brief encounters of oral and manual satisfaction.

His thought process was interrupted when he felt her strong, silky legs wrap around his waist, inviting him closer to her womanhood that had now glistened from his invasion. He pulled his fingers out of her tight, wet orirfice. Karimah grabbed hold of his inquisitive hand and licked her own essence off of his fingers.

He was mesmerized as he watched her lap at his fingers enthusiastically, her amber eyes watching his reaction.

"Fuck me." she ordered softly. "Fuck me hard, Magnus."

The Crimson King did not hesitate.

"My pleasure."

Magnus took hold of her hips as he eased himself inside her. Slowly, carefully he infiltrated her warm, wet depths. Karimah tingled all over, the intensity increasing with every inch of him that invaded her. She felt no pain or discomfort, just a sweet, pleasant sensation that originated from her groin. She dug her nails on his back as incomprehensible sounds slipped from her mouth. She felt her abdomen tense, her lower lips embrace him as he introduced himself into her.

"Magnus..." she cried out as he filled her completely.

"Are you alright?" he whispered in her ear. He felt her nod in response.

"It feels so good...aahhhhhh..." she replied tersely. Karima had not had a man since Marcus' demise, not for anything other than the lack of interest on her part. The Crimson King certainly met that criteria...among other things.

The Primarch slowly started to thrust, moving his hips back and forth. He started to build pace. Increased vigor with his motions. She jerked with every push as he hit the spot of her penultimate pleasure.

"More...please...more..." Karimah cried with delight. Then she started experiencing a second sensation. One that began at the base of her spine and spreading slowly, delightfully, to every inch of her body. She opened her eyes but for a moment and met Magnus eye that was aflame with lust. The Crimson King was enhancing her pleasure as he stimulated the nerves of her body with his psychic abilities. Karimah bit her lip as she felt her climax build in the pits of her abdomen.

He bent over to lick her ear. "Come for me, Habibti." he whispered affectionately.

"I...ammm..." she cried, unable to stifle a sound of complete ecstasy that escaped from her lips. She arched, pressing her body against the Primarch and burying her fingers on the flesh of his muscled back. Magnus kept with his thrusting motions as she spasmed beneath him, her legs holding him tight around his hips. He felt her tighten her grip on his hardened shaft as she hit her orgasm. He amplified her sensations by applying his fingers to the small of her back and pressing firmly, allowing his biomancy capabilities to infiltrate her flesh.

Karimah froze, seeing stars as she reached her peak, and slowly falling limp in his arms as it gradually subsided. She could sense him nearing his own peak as he plunged harder. Faster. She pushed his pelvis deeper into her core by putting her hands on his naked buttocks. Magnus buried his head on the crook of her neck. She felt his growl against her ear as he reached his own climax, releasing into her vigorously. He paused after he had spent himself, shuddering in relief, before rolling over to her side.

They were both out of breath as they lay in his bed spent. Magnus took her exhausted form in his arms and held her close. He nuzzled the top of her head, inhaling the subtle fragrance of her soft hair.

"Are you alright?" he inquired as he moved blankets over her with his mind. He ran his hand on her upper arm, squeezing gently. "Did I hurt you?"

"Not at all." she said, snuggling closer to him. "Experiment is a success...at least I think it is."

"Perhaps we should conduct another one..." he kissed the top of her forehead. "You know...just to prove that it was not a coincidental finding...for purposes of reproducibility."

She laughed at his insinuation. "As long as we're not consuming too much of your time for more important functions. You have your duties to attend to." Karimah buried her face in his chest.

"We will make time." his line of gaze moved to the claw marks still on her neck. They looked too deep to be inflicted quickly during the skirmish she was in. Whatever did this to her held on to her neck for some time, and judging from its size it was larger than the ones he had seen her during the ambush.

Once again, Magnus found himself being curious about this woman.

"We should get back." he said as he received a telepathic message from one of his captains. "We're almost to our next planet."

"Which planet?" she asked as she lifted her head.

"Aghoru."

3/9/2017 4:24 pm


	5. The Color of Change

_**4/8/2017**_

 _ **Author Notes:**_

 _ **So I'm looking at this and wondering if its too short. Well, compared to the last one (which is 10k words, holy crap I didn't think I can write an entire chapter that long) it is. Buuut I think I have enough happening here. What's funny is I'm already writing chapter 5 in my head. I can't believe this fic has gone this far and this long, because the original idea was only supposed to last one chapter and was basically a one-nighter. Dammit for my Magnus love. It's beyond ridiculous. But anyway, please do read, enjoy and review if you can. It helps keep me going!**_

* * *

Aghoru turned out to be the substance of her nightmares.

Primarch Magnus had descended to investigate the Mountain that devoured men. He was physically away for months, and though he had made it a point to communicate with her telepathically several times a week, she could not help but worry something was terribly, horribly wrong. Aghoru and its primitive civilization by itself was an interesting find, and she found plenty of things to occupy her while he was gone. She had spent the time collecting relics and artifacts for study. She had also been transcribing material from the previous other xeno cultures that they had collected. But in the back of her mind all she could think of was how the Primarch was doing.

She had a bad feeling about Aghoru. A particular animosity towards the Mountain as well. There was an unholy presence there that did not settle well with her.

That, and the beast that taunted her for most of her life was back.

For some odd reason it seemed to have more power since she had landed in Aghoru. Every time it haunted her, she was able to exorcise it but she noticed she had to use more and more of her powers to drive it away. She never got away from it unharmed either. Some days she would have burns, abrasions and claw marks everywhere. For the most part she was able to heal herself. However she would need the aid of one of the Apothecaries from time to time. Luckily, they never questioned her on how they came about.

Then the attack occurred. The awakening of the titanic beast that decimated both the Thousand Sons and Space Wolves. She had not directly witnessed it, but she felt it. Felt the pain and the suffering of the Primarch as he battled the monstrosity. Saved by the last minute kine shield of Phosis T'kar, he was barely able to make it. She had been asleep at the time this had occurred, but had been awoken by a searing pain through her chest, a thunderous ache in her head. She sat up with tears in her eyes and a dead scream in her throat. She had not known at that time why she experienced such, but she did. She had only realized this after he had sent her a message.

"You are injured! What happened?"

"I am alive. That is what is most important."

"Are you going to tell me or do I have to pry it out of your stubborn head?"

"My, my, is that how you speak to your Primarch?"

"It is how I speak to someone I care about, who I have not heard from for days, and who suddenly pops in after coming close to death. Do you expect me to be more docile?"

"On the contrary if you acted any less I would have thought you may have replaced me already."

"My Lord...this is no time to jest."

"I can take care of myself, you know that. I am leading an excursion into the depths of this mountain, I just wanted to let you know."

"Be careful...Magnus. Please."

"I like hearing you concerned for me that way. It makes me think I will get a treat as soon as I return."

She was about to say more but had lost his presence. They had concluded to keep their dalliance a secret, as it would serve as nothing better than gossip fodder. That, and she knew that the Primarch had priorities with the Great Crusade. She was quite content with this arrangement, as she had her other priorities as well. Especially when she gets a chance to return to Prospero. She had been anxious to see her family again. She had been in communication with her sister-in-law and her twin nephews and was excited to see them.

"How is Ashkan?" she referred to her brother, as she spoke to her sister-in-law over the communications system.

"He has not changed." her brother's wife reported. "He is no better, but at least he has not deteriorated."

"How are the boys handling it?"

"Quite well. They understand that their Father is ill." she paused before changing topics. "They are excited to see you, you know. Especially when they found out that you work with the Thousand Sons."

Karimah found herself smiling at this discovery. "I will bring them presents when I return. Perhaps something from the fellowship captains."

Lisetta Tahrik laughed. "Oh your nephews would be thrilled. They see them as superheroes. Especially your Primarch. They have this insane idol worship of him. They keep telling my poor heart they want to be Astartes when they grow up."

She laughed. "Would you like me to talk them out of it?"

"I suspect that would be an exercise in futility but you are welcome to try."

"I will let you know when we get close to Prospero. I think we have a few more stops, but I am hoping to see you the soonest I can."

"We're not going anywhere, Karimah. Be assured. You have our love!"

Karimah sent her regards before closing the communication loop. "Thank you for your help, Abulkhariz." she nodded to the Astartes who assisted her, the same one who helped her as an Apothecary.

"Anytime, Mistress Karimah." he acknowledged. They were in the main control room of the Photep, awaiting for the rest of the crew to get on board as they prepared to leave Aghoru.

The panels of the control room slid open revealing the Primarch and his captains.

The clink of that armor was music to her ears.

She turned ever so slightly to take a brief glance, using uncommon restraint not to run to him to welcome him back.

She hid a small smile at that thought. Magnus abhorred public displays of affection. The mortified look on his face would be priceless had she done something so scandalous.

She turned fully to see the Primarch covered in filth and dust walking unceremoniously thru the door. He took off his helmet and threw it towards the closest servitor who caught it without missing a beat. His hair was a matted mess and his face was covered in mountain debris. Chapter Serfs came from several directions to assist in disengaging his armor as he stood still.

"Set course for the Arc Reach Cluster." he announced without much fanfare. "Our wolf brothers need our assistance."

The Navigators and shipmasters set to work without question as they scurried about programming for the next destination. The control room had started buzzing with activity as the Primarch set out more orders. She stood quietly out of the way as she opened her data slate to start an entry about their new destination. When she looked up she met his single eye which cast her but a fleeting glance.

He was down to the very basics of his armor, with most of the thick plates removed and sent out for what she suspect was cleaning and polishing. A thin layer of cloth over his torso, likely to protect from the rubbing of the metal on his skin, and his bottom half still somewhat intact. He likely did not want to be wandering around dragging Aghoru dirt on the Photep's immaculate floors, yet keep himself somewhat decently dressed. He spoke a handful of instructions to Ahriman before taking off. He passed by her and two other Remembrancers on his way out, briefly acknowledging them before preceeding to his quarters.

 _A head start, if you please, Mistress Tahrik._

He sent her the message telepathically, amused at how formally he addressed her even when no one could hear it. She waited at least ten minutes before proceeding to his quarters.

The lower half of the Crimson King's armor was nowhere to be found by the time she had gone to his chambers. She suspected one of his chapter serfs had gotten it already. She heard the powerful cascades of water in his shower. Karimah looked around, ensuring no one else was in the room before heading his way.

The Primarch's bathroom was larger than life, with its white marble walls, ornate gold accented decor, and everything scaled to his enormity. It was pristine and grandiose and appears as no dust has ever settled upon its majestic floors. And while she was convinced he didn't necessarily need it to clean himself, he seemed to enjoy standing in the warm waterfall mostly to clear his thoughts.

"Welcome back, My Lord." she spoke over the cascading waters.

"It's good to be back." he spoke through the noise. She could see his massive outline behind the opalescent glass doors as he stood there, allowing the strong blast to clean him.

The shower door then parted open, spraying the water outside and splashing some on her.

"Hey..." she shielded herself from the spray when she felt him tug her inside. "Magnus!" she squealed as the Primarch yanked her into the shower with him, even as she was completely dressed.

The Primarch had picked her up and kissed her heatedly, ignoring the fact that she was drenched and dripping everywhere. Karimah freed her arms so she could hold his face as she enthusiastically kissed him back. their lips locked for as long as they could tolerate it before he pulled away.

"Apologies." he spoke through the torrents of the shower. "I did not want to kiss you when I was covered in filth."

She smiled warmly at him, laughing at his enthusiasm. "You could have ar least waited when I'm not fully clothed to pull me in here."

"That can be arranged."

"Now?"

The Primarch laughed at her false indignation before kissing her again. "I've been deprived of you long enough." with a gesture he had stripped her of all clothing.

For but a few seconds she was self-conscious, as every bit of covering she had was completely gone. She cleared her face of the wet hair, trying to see through the watery curtain. She found herself looking at her Primarch's solitary eye that was glowing with what she could deduce, was a genuine happiness to see her.

"Did you miss me?'

"Did you?"

"I asked first."

"For a while there I was beginning to wonder if you had ditched me from some more interesting, malevolent entities that devoured the souls of men."

"Ah...they were very intriguing, but none of them I had the wish to be consumed by, other than you."

"I suppose that's a plus."

He reached over to swipe the wet hair from across her face. "I can't wait to share with you all that I have seen in those depths."

"And I long to hear all your misadventures." she responded genuinely. "But for now, would you allow me to be selfish and indulge myself?"

"Be my guest."

Using her own psyker abilities, Karimah softened the flow of the water, lessening it to a gentle mist-like rain shower. She motioned Magnus to sit down on a marble ledge that jutted from one wall of the shower stall. He was curious to see what she was planning, his brows raising when she lathered her hands with soap.

"Relax." she said. Karimah then applied her soft fingers to the Primarch's lustruous mane, shampooing it and running her hands through its silky strands.

"You and your silly rituals." he said as he leaned forward to nuzzle her neck, as she stood before him massaging his scalp.

"I have a hair fetish...you know that." she laughed softly as she continued to cleanse him of debris. "Mmmm..." she let a moan slip past her lips when Magnus took liberties and placed his arms around her wet, naked body.

"You can't imagine how I longed for the feel of you against me." he said as he caressed her supple skin. HIs hands travelled to the sensitive spots on her back, caressing her slick softness and resting his palms against her buttocks.

"I'm here now." she spoke as she finished washing his hair. "You can feel me all you like." she pulled away slightly, kissing the spot where his other eye would have been.

Magnus smiled.

Karimah then proceeded to massage her hands all over the Primarch, outlining his muscular frame and ridding him of any residual dirt the mountains of Aghoru may have stained him with. She started with his thick neck, following the contours of his broad shoulders and outlining the expanse of his chest. He watched her amusedly, as she bent down to soap his thighs, the length of his legs. She purposely avoided his groin area, much to his chagrin.

"You missed a spot."

Karimah noted the tension in Magnus' voice. Her tender touch was clearly arousing him, as his shaft was visibly erect. She felt his muscles throb with the passage of her fingers over them. She was trying her damnedest best to not just give in to their mutual desire. She paused when she reached between his thighs, looking up at him and meeting the burning ember in his pupils.

She reached out to apply her hands on his shaft.

The Primarch released a guttural sound from his throat as her soapy hands wrapped around the base of his turgid member. She placed one hand before another, sliding throughout his length slowly in calculating fashion, moving her hands with a firm grip. Magnus abdomen tensed, as he held on, trying not to explode on her then and there.

When the water rinsed him clear of the soap, Karimah took her position between his knees. She dipped her head and took him inside her mouth.

Magnus leaned back, his hands gripping the shower walls tightly as he watched her pull off a trick of biomancy he has not witnessed before. She sucked his sensitive head, swirled her tongue around it before slowly taking his shaft into her throat. Karimah had done this in the immaterium before, but not in real space. Never in real space.

She cast a hungry look upon him as she devoured him whole. His shaft throbbed in agitation as she pulled him in and out of her mouth in slow, tantalising fashion. She made sure the roughness of her tongue caressed every inch, every surface of his cock.

"Is this what you have been mastering while I was away?" he managed to say in between breaths.

"It is but one of many that I have been working on." she replied in between her oral stimulation. "But only this was for purposes of pleasure, my Lord."

"You will be the death of me." he spoke through his tensed jaw as she kissed him below.

"And here I thought I bring you to life." she teased as she started sucking his lower head. Magnus gripped her shoulders as she continued her assault. The harder she sucked the more it was difficult for him to hold on from his climax.

"Habibti..."

It was the last word the Primarch had said before he spurt his seed before her. Karimah pulled back as his warm essence spattered all over her, mostly settling on her chest and the lower half of her face. She watched as he released himself on her welcoming body. When he finished she climbed on top of him, settling on his wide, strong lap.

The fine mist of the shower was still flowing, and it rinsed the both of them of bodily fluids that were scattered everywhere. Karimah nestled in his strong arms as he held her close to him.

"I tried."

"You were supposed to let go." she giggled as she kissed him gently on the mouth. "Just as planned." she laughed hard as he scowled at her.

"You're fortunate I'm too tired to argue with you at the moment...otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?"

The Primarch's fingers found the small of her back. He pressed against her spine gently, but the effect on her was almost instantaneous as ripples of nerve tingling delight spread from the spot to every inch of her body. Karimah gasped loudly as the tide washed upon her, stimulating every aspect of her body, as though the Primarch touched her sensitive spots all at once.

"No fair..." she mumbled as he repositioned her on his lap, making her kneel on his thighs and putting her chest on level with his face.

"You are absolutely correct there..." he said as he rubbed his cheek against her wet chest. "No using psyker powers...I should do this the old fashioned way..." Magnus tilted his head and took her supple breast in his mouth, drawing a sound from her that was pure music to his ears. He sucked hungrily at her bosom, swirling his rough tongue against the turgid nipple. Karimah entangled her fingers into his hair, pullng the strands with every suckle he did.

His hand ensconced itself between her thighs, feeling for her warm entrance. She was wet and throbbing, and he knew it was not from being drenched in the showers. He slid a thick finger into her tight depths, making her moan louder.

"Magnus..." she whispered his name as her head spun with all the exquisite sensations he was drawing from her at this moment. His mouth moved from one breast to another, alternating between licking vigorously, gently biting and sucking intensely. His fingers matched its rhythm, slipping in and out of her orifice with enthusiasm. His thumb rested on her clit, placing gentle pressure on it enough to stimulate her but not too hard to push her into the orgasm that was beginning to burgeon between her thighs.

She arched as her climax loomed, a silent scream trapped in her throat. She gripped his hair tightly as she trembled under his touch. The Crimson King smiled to himself as he pushed his fingers into her one more time, pressing her clit hard as he released a wave of exquisite energy into her, magnifying her pleasure and making her cry out loud. Karimah bucked and spasmed in his arms as she orgasmed intensely. Magnus held her tight, enjoying her pleasure almost as much as she did. She cussed into his ear as she knew exactly what trickery he was up to. She all but collapsed into his embrace by the time it was all said and done.

"You despicable, overpowered, insatiable superhuman..." escaped from her lips as he carried her limp body unto his bed.

"It's what you love most about me." he laughed as he laid her on the silken sheets.

"Dammit Magnus!" she cried as she found him between her legs, his face dipping at her juncture and his tongue brushing teasingly around her still throbbing lower lips.

"I need this." he smirked as the tip of his tongue tickled her hypersensitive bundle of nerves.

"I don't..."

"Objection overruled..." he said as he kissed between her legs. "It won't take long, Habibti."

"Long for...aaaaaaaaaaaaaah..."

Her screams reverberated through the bedroom walls as he ate her out quickly, firmly, triggering another explosion within her so fast on the heels of the previous one that her mind completely lost coherent thought.

Magnus grinned as he continued with his invasion. He wanted to make up for all the worry he caused her. For all the time they were apart he could sense her anxiety nagging at her even in her sleep.

He just wanted to make her feel good. Really, really good.

Her nails dug deeply on the meat of his shoulders as she climaxed yet again. Her cries were music to his ears.

When she woke up she had not even a recollection that she actually lost consciousness.

She was in her room, tucked neatly in her bed and dressed in robes that after a minute or two of shaking the cobwebs in her head, she realized were not hers.

The robes were crimson and multiple sizes larger.

She wrapped the robe tighter around her, enjoying the caress of the supple fabric against her skin. Her gaze wandered to her night stand and saw the data slate she had dropped outside the Primarch's shower stall earlier. On it was the entry she had started to write.

Arc Reach Cluster.

She needed to get back to work.

* * *

"I do not see the benefit to all of this."

Myrrha Rahbari turned to her as she spoke those words aloud. "What do you mean?"

Karimah shrugged her shoulders as the other Remembrancer kept taking picts. "This...wasting of a civilization." she motioned to the extensive damaged buildings that billowed in smoke and burned in fire. "Pointless destruction...loss of lives...what is the point of completely annhilating a planet that does not comply the way you want it to? A vulgar display of power perhaps? At the end of it, there will be nothing, no one...left to comply anyway."

The other woman had no answer for her, contenting herself on taking images for the record. "Perhaps it would be easier to rule if there is no one to oppose you." she said at last as she reloaded her camera. "Have you ever asked the the Primarch his take on the matter?" she stepped over the dead bodies of enemy soldiers as the two of them headed for the center of the ruins to return to the Thunderhawk.

Karimah shot her fellow Remembrancer a quizzical look. She didn't think Myrrha knew of her intimate relationship with Magnus...at least she hoped not. "I have no authority to question him." she replied simply. "A student does not question her teacher of anything beyond what is being taught."

"I suppose." Myrrha answered as they started to get in the vehicle. "Is he intimidating?"

"To an extent." Karimah replied truthfully. Magnus had always placed importance on whatever he was teaching her at the moment, treating her like the pupil that she was. He saved his more lax behavior when they were away from prying eyes. "You get used to it eventually."

" I wouldn't mind learning a thing or two." the other woman shifting to a lighter topic. "My divination isn't the best...but if I had a handsome Astartes help me hone my skills, well..."

They both laughed lightly at this thought as the transport vehicle made its way towards the very heart of Phoenix Crag. From inside they could barely hear the rage of gunfire and the war cries of terror. Karimah had opted to stay on the ground as opposed to flying with some of the Astartes as the other Remembrancers were. She preferred to be left behind picking up the pieces of the civilization they were currently paving a warpath to.

In her head she began to question the validity of this campaign. Of the entire Crusade, to be honest. Aghoru and Aswang were not complete losses, but this one...Heliosa. She felt they were throwing away a treasure trove of wonder as she saw their inhabitants drop like flies at the hands of the Imperium's forces. Three legions wiping out colonies of these planets, the people, the culture. She would be lying if she said she didn't want to resist this ridiculous plundering.

Alas, she had no power. No say. She was a Remembrancer. Dutied only to chronicle the accomplishments of the Imperium of Mankind.

Now she had begun to have doubts.

They stopped near a structure that reminded Karimah of the Great Library of Tizca with its majesty and grandeur. A smaller pyramid-like structure was a short distance from it and that's where their vehicle had settled. Myrrha had asked to be dropped on that spot as it had a great aerial view of the library and the gathering of Astartes underneath.

"If you want to go down there to be closer to the action, I'm not stopping you." Myrrha said as she began to adjust the lenses on her camera. "I just figured I would get a great panoramic view from up here...and I won't get squished."

"I'm simply recording. My distance won't matter too much." she replied as she used the magnoculars she had on her. "Abulkhariz...what's going on down there?"

Their escort had just gotten off the Vox from one of his colleagues. "I'm afraid there's bit of a standoff...Lady Karimah." he reported, adjusting his earpiece.

"Are there more of the resistance?" she inquired as her line of sight caught some of the Fellowship captains gathered below. She had seen no enemy soldiers, but it seemed as though this disagreement was between...Astartes.

She could feel the tension in their escort's demeanor as he kept talking on the Vox. He turned to the two Remembrances. "I need to go down there. You will be safe up here." he reassured before quickly taking off for the beginning of a skirmish below.

Her eyes were drawn to the fellowship captains as things got ugly rather quickly. She could not hide the horror on her features as she watched things transpire before her. Astatrtes vs Astartes, battling among brothers. The Thousands Sons held back the advancing Space Wolves as the Red Primarch stood his ground with the Scarab Occult. Her line of sight moved to the Crimson King, his aura ablaze with rage. His sword was drawn. His fury evident as she could feel it hundreds of meters away.

 _Magnus. Be safe. Please don't be foolish._

 **I am not the one who is being irrational in this particular instance.**

The red Primarch looked up, his head tilted to her direction, as far as she may have been. His gaze was quick, but she knew he is aware of her presence. She could almost feel his confident reassurance that if it ever came to blows he was going to be the one to walk out of this alive.

Her eyes widened as she witnessed something that was only the thing of gossip and legend.

Hastur.

She had known the Astartes very casually. She had run into him several times at the Photep when he would horse around with Hathor.

"Holy Terra." Myrrha seemed to have echoed her thoughts and had jumped to a lower level to see what was transpiring below. "Karimah look!"

She had seen it.

And then she felt it.

Karimah's hand froze.

From the tip of her fingernails she noted the color change spreading slowly through her hands. A bluish purple hue.

Like a slow effusion it started ascending to her arms, her neck, every inch of her skin started to change color to a very subtle shade of cyanosis. Then it began to tighten ever so gradually as though the moisture was being drawn from it. The chaos below drowned the choking noise that started in her throat as she started gasping for air. She fell on her knees, dropping her data slate to the ground as she coughed violently.

 _ **Thrones...no...please...**_ she tried to speak but no sound came out of her mouth. Karimah felt the skin around her head tighten like a vise, the insides of her skull pounding as though its contents wanted to burst free. She fell on the ground, her muscles starting to seize as she felt herself lose control.

"Karimah?" the horrified voice of Myrrha Rahbari echoed in her head. "By the Emperor what's going on?" the other Remembrancer screamed for help but her voice was unheard in the sounds of the skirmish below. She fiddled with the vox communicator she had on but panic made her fingers useless.

The gasping Prosperan rolled unto her belly, seeing the look of horror on her companion as she struggled to get up. Karimah's eye caught Myrrha trying to reach for a flare gun her backpack and with one swipe of her hand, she knocked her friend over and making her hit the side of her head on a concrete slab.

That light use of her powers seemed to increase her symptoms, as she felt her airways closing, sounds wheezing from her throat. Karimah was getting dizzy, her legs buckled completely beneath her as spasms of pain racked her entire body. Her skin was almost blue now, her head threatening to blow up as a trickle of blood spilt down the corner of her lip.

 _ **No...not today...**_ she cried internally as she fought. Fought the condition that enveloped her body. She closed her eyes and focused.

 _ **Enumerations...**_

Her vision began to falter as though a dark cloak had come over her.

 _ **You will not claim me. Not now. Not ever.**_

Karimah shook her head.

She coughed a few more times before finally regaining her breath, the color starting to return to her features. She crawled over to Myrrha who she knocked unconscious. Karimah took a breath before approaching the other woman. She nestled her head upon her lap as she put two fingers on the other Remembrancer's temples to start the healing process.

"I' m sorry my friend." she murmured as she tried to mend the concussion she caused. "I'm can't have you remember all that you have witnessed."

Once she had completed her treatment, Karimah moved to look over the melee that was transpiring.

Hastur was dead. His limp form slumped before his Primarch.

Another figure caught her attention as he advanced.

The Wolf King.

There was no love lost between the two Primarchs, that as much she knew. Leman Russ never veiled his distrust of Psykers and Magnus never waned his support of them. They had opposing views on the preservation of this Planet, that as much she knew.

"Magnus...no..." she choked as she debated on what to do. She was partly still gasping from the episode she had, her mind still hazy and parts of her muscles still weak and unsteady.

A flash of light.

Lorgar Aurelian had appeared to prevent the inevitable bloodshed.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

When the Wolf King howled it sent shivers down her spine.

This was not over, not by any stretch of the imagination.

* * *

Magnus took to his private sanctum after everything that transpired at the Great Library of Phoenix Crag. Needless to say he was physically and mentally drained from what had occurred. He found himself most at peace when he was surrounded by scriptures and books.

He sat quietly for what may have been hours. His body at rest but his mind endlessly streaming the events of past.

He took a deep breath as he ran an exhausted hand across his face. He sent out a telepathic message as he proceeded to change out of his armor.

Karimah was scanning the journals they had collected from Phoenix Crag when she received it.

He was sitting before the chess table when she arrived. She nodded as he acknowledged her presence. Karimah sat down across Magnus to play against him.

No words were exchanged. No words were necessary. Not at this point anyway.

They were at least halfway through the game before anyone had spoken.

"I am thankful you made it out of there in one piece." she said, casting a relieved smile at him.

"You should know by now that I always intend to come out of these battles intact." he spoke as he took off one of her pieces on the board. "Albeit I regret that casualties had to occur. Every death of my sons is a personal blow to me."

"I would not claim to understand, but I certainly can empathize." she said as she pushed her white Queen forward. "You care deeply about your legion. It's very admirable."

"They are borne of my blood." he raised a brow, a small smile breaking his serious tone. "I can't help it."

"Even so...not all Primarchs feel that way towards their Astartes..." she paused to move her knight aside. "What happened down there, exactly?"

"It's a long, convoluted story."

"You could relate it until all the chess pieces come off the board...after then I won't pry." she offered.

The corner of the Primarch's mouth lifted. "Sly woman...knowing you, you would prolong the game just to hear all of it."

"It depends on what runs out first." she grinned back at him. "My interest in the story or my patience in claiming a victory over you."

The Primach laughed out loud at her insinuation. "Unfortunately for me you have an infinite supply of both."

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"I never said it was, Habibti."

"You may begin your tale before my Queen devours the rest of your pieces..."

"Very well..."

* * *

"All of that insanity was for a library?" she said as he explained what had transpired.

"It was a great repository of knowledge. You know my stance on that matter." Magnus stressed. "Did you not see its' striking resemblance to Tizca?"

"I realize that." she replied. "What I meant was, you and Primarch Russ couldn't have a more diplomatic discussion on not burning everything down to a cinder?"

"There is no negotiation with my primitive savage of a brother."

"Did you even try?"

"You do not know Leman Russ." he stated flatly. "He is unyielding with his beliefs."

"Sounds like someone I know." Karimah moved her rook to take one of his pieces.

This comment earned her a spark of disapproval in the Primarch's eye. "You know better than to compare me to Russ."

"You are brothers...all created from the same material of the Emperor. There has to be a common thread." she shrugged.

"There is more to brotherhood than shared blood." he stated as he moved his black Knight forward to block her bishop. "There has to be bonding, a formation of kinship. Leman Russ and I have have not seen each other in thirty years and have only met once in this six month battle." he sighed before continuing. "My bond with my sons is infinitely stronger and more of a relationship than his and I will ever be."

Karimah moved her own knight, taking the Primarch's off the table. "That is a shame." she stated. "I believe you can learn so much from each other...that includes all of your brothers."

He lectured. "I have learned everything there is to know in this universe."

"Nobody knows everything, my Lord. Not even your father."

"Says the human to the Primarch."

"Lord Malcador the Sigilite is human also, and you respect his words."

Magnus leaned back, taking a deep breath as his single eye appraised the Remembrancer sitting across him. The Primarch was drained from battle. The last thing he needed was an argument with his paramour. "Are you deliberately ruffling my feathers today, Mistress Tahrik? Because if you are I can assure you it is working."

"I apologize if my truthful observations distress you, my Lord."

Silence.

The Primarch pursed his lips as he stood up from their game. He said nothing as he turned his back and proceeded to walk away. Karimah sat there fully aware that she had stoked his ire.

"Hastur."

Her mention of the Astartes name stopped the Primarch on his tracks. He did not turn to acknowledge her, however. "What about Hastur?" he barely spoke. He knew what she was about to ask next.

"What happened to him, Magnus?" she said with a slight quiver in her voice. "Is that the flesh change that they speak of?"

The Crimson King had no words for her at that very second. But when he opened his lips to speak it was with finality and authority. "You can record that in your data slate however you wish. It is an aberration that has been repaired. Occasionally the mutation rears its ugly head. But this is the last occurrence and the final time that is ever to be spoken of."

He continued to take his leave, but before he could vanish into thin air she called out to him.

"Will that happen to you too?"

The concern in her voice was unmistakable. Magnus turned about. The worry in her features was something she did not bother to conceal.

"Is that what is bothering you?" he answered in return. "That I will transform into this abomination while we are engaging in our lascivious endeavors?"

Karimah was aghast that he would suggest this, but she stood up slowly and approached his tense figure. The color of his eye was a mixture of indignation and fury as it fixated on her. She reached out to touch his hand that was balled into a fist. "Is that how trivial you think I am?" she spoke firmly as she met his intense gaze. "Have you ever considered perhaps, that maybe I cared what happens to you in all of this...this madness?"

"I am a Primarch of the Imperium, Karimah." he replied. "I can certainly handle whatever these Xenos throw at me."

"It is not even the Xenos that worry me." she admitted as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze in an attempt to calm him. "It is the internal strife that does. Within your siblings...your legion...the flesh change...the powers of the aether..."

He silenced her with a finger on her lips, an intense look in his eye. "Have you no faith in me, woman?"

"I do." she murmured. "But there are things out there that are beyond your control..."

"Nothing is beyond my control." he spoke in a hushed but authoritative manner."What are you afraid of, Karimah Tahrik?"

"That this will all spiral down to hell."she confessed as her hands fell to her sides.

"Not for as long as I exist." he placed reassuring hands on her shoulders. As he did, the Primarch saw through her thoughts the images of the flesh change.

Is that what scared her? That he was going to succumb to this abberrancy as Hastur did?

Magnus felt an internal tug within him.

"Never...I promise." he murmured, caressing her cheek with his palm. Magnus bent down to put his lips to her quivering mouth.

Karimah felt a tear slide down her cheek as she accepted his kiss. Her lips parted to accept his invasion as he tried to assuage her fears. She held his cheek as their kiss became deeper. Hungrier. Needier. He wrapped an arm around her waist as he pulled her closer to him, letting her feel his body heat.

"Magnus..." she paused to get some air as he moved to the soft crook of her neck. He kissed her frantically as his hand made short work of the buttons on her blouse. His hand found its way on the edge of her brassiere, slipping his hand inside and feeling her supple softness. He squeezed tenderly, rubbing his thumb over her nipple and making it turgid to his touch.

Karimah's breath was ragged as she in turn pulled the belt off Magnus' attire, letting his clothing loosen and allowing her access to his loin cloth. She reached into it to feel his arousal that throbbed against her hands.

"We're in the library..."

"That does not concern me...nor should it concern you."

Magnus swept the table of the chess board that sat on it, knocking over the black and white pieces to the floor where they rolled in all directions. He pushed Karimah upon the freshly vacated area, making her lay on the sturdy wood table. He lifted the long skirt of her dress, exposing her honey-toned thighs to him as well as the center of her heat that was currently covered by a flimsy slip of fabric.

He ran both hands over her responsive flesh, revelling in their soft warmth. His palms caressed her inner thighs before cupping her covered womanhood with his hand, his thumb pressing against its heat. He teased the center of her desire with his fingers. Karimah bit her lip as the sweet sensations travelled rapidly throughout her skin.

"I can't lose you...I don't want to.." she stifled a sob as the Crimson King made short work of the lower half of his clothing, as well as her own.

"You will never lose me." he bent over to kiss her one more time. "I am yours...as you are mine, Habibti."

Karimah jerked as she felt him slide his fingers into her, gently easing her lower lips apart, as though preparing her to receive him. Pleasurable sounds escaped her throat as the moisture developed between her legs from his stimulation. She felt him rub his shaft against her warm, wet, opening, as though teasing her. She felt the tip of it caress against her throbbing bundle of nerves.

The Primarch was hard as a rock.

"Magnus take me..." she pleaded in heat. The throbbing want between her legs was becoming intolerable and empty. She needed him. Needed him to fill her completely.

"I thought you'd never ask."

He plowed into her, in a swift but controlled pace to allow her to accomodate to him but hard enough to make her jolt on the desk. Karimah cried in pleasure as Magnus rammed into her, holding her hips wide enough to allow him between her legs. He thrust into her enthusiastically as the desk beneath her creaked with the strength that he pounded her with. Her breasts bounced with the ferocity of his thrusts.

The Primarch filled his hands with her bosom, gently squeezing as he continued to plunge into her. He could hear her sweet whimpers as he did. Her hips gyrated in tune to his motions, as she tightened her grip around his shaft. He grit his teeth as he held on to the pleasurable heat enveloping him.

Karimah felt the orgasm build in her core. Faster. Faster. Stronger. She mewled when it came, bursting forth upon every inch of her body, rapidly flowing into every nerve, every surface of her skin. She was in the throes of it, thrashing, her hand squeezing his arms while the legs that wrapped around his waist tightened its grip.

Magnus grunted as she was starting to come down from her pleasurable high. He felt it come forth, squirting into her welcoming womb as he climaxed into her. His groin tightened as he squeezed his essence out. The Primarch was panting with his release as he bent down to embrace her.

Her eyes were becoming drowsy, her eyelids fluttering to keep herself awake. She licked the dryness of her lips as she had come so intensely. Her vision found the Primarch breaking into a sweat as he motioned to pull himself out of her and take her into his arms.

"We have to go back." she mumbled as her consciousness started to waver.

"They won't miss us." he murmured as he held her tightly. "I instructed Ahriman that I am not to be disturbed for the next few hours."

"Do you think they suspect anything?"

"My personal life is none of anyone's concern."

"Not if it interferes with your duties."

"I will be the judge of that."

"Magnus..."

"Yes?"

"You are extremely stubborn." she spoke softly."I wish you would listen from time to time."

"I would not have gotten as far as I have had I not persisted."

"I know...but..."

"But nothing..." he hushed as she lapsed out of consciousness in his embrace.

Magnus leaned back in his chair as he held her spent figure in his arms. He almost felt guilty for putting her to sleep with a gesture she didn't see coming earlier. Her words were like barbs to him, even if they had been expressed in concern. Her worries were things he had put in the back of his mind not because they were not real, but he felt they were trivial compared to the grand scheme of things.

He ran his hand through the silky tresses of her black hair, as he placed a kiss on her forehead. They were going to have to resume her training once she wakes up. Much as he would rather spend his free hours exploring the things that made her whimper beneath him, he did not want to rouse the suspicion of any of his Fellowship captains. Karimah did not deserve that kind of scrutiny.

Perhaps...

Perhaps he should send her back to Prospero.

* * *

 _4/8/2017 1:11pm_

 _Author Notes:_

 _I was going to include Ullanor in here but I think that part should blend in with the Nikaea stuff. Plus that may make things inexorably longer. Eeeep. So I hope you liked this one. The next one may have more drama in it, mostly because it's the Council of Nikaea fercyinoutloud and I'm in near tears reading it. (Yes yes I haven't finished my first book in W40k and here I am writing a silly fic about it). And then Prospero. So this fic is more than halfway done. Thank you for putting up with my shenanigans!_


	6. Owned

8/25/2017 4:45 pm

Author Notes:

 _OMG after 4 months of being stuck on this thing I finally managed to finish it. I have consulted many wiki articles and beta readers on the accuracy of making Astartes and how it was in Ullanor and I have gotten their seal of approval. So if there are any inconsistencies, discrepancies, just let me know so I can yell at the appropriate person._

 _Just kidding. My beta readers are the best. I love you all whether you like it or not. (Andrew, Steph and Meghan)._

 _Hopefully I can get the next chapter running without taking forever to finish. Thank you for reading. Reviews are much appreciated!_

* * *

"Ashkan, can I watch them make you an Astartes?"

"You're only four, Karimah. You're too little." her brother replied as he ruffled her mop of unruly, black hair.

"I'll be big like you someday!" she pouted, crossing her arms across her tiny chest, watching as her brother, then fourteen, stood straight up. Ashkan Tahrik was tall for his age and had the right built for augmentation. He had already passed the trials and was awaiting to start the implantation process.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" his mother, Reza asked as she picked up her younger child. "It's not carved in stone you know."

"I have decided, Mother." he reassured. "I'll be Chapter Master yet, just you wait."

"If I live long enough." she shook her head as her only son gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you!" Ashkan took his little sister and gave her wet kisses that she laughed at before handing her back to their mother.

He turned towards the awaiting military truck that was to transport them to the Monastery, waving enthusiastically before he vanished into the noisy vehicle.

That was the last of Ashkan Tahrik that Karimah saw. The last normal vision of him.

Three years later he was almost unrecognizable. He was taller, more robust. But the look in his eyes were that of a person unknown to her.

"He didn't take to augmentation." her father Galil had said regretfully. "His body rejected the implants. It took a while for it to come out but..."

Galil Tahrik was a scientist. One of the many secretly tasked to carry out the Astartes augmentation process. That his own son could not handle it was an emotional blow to him. LIke a knife twisting in his gut, even made worse by the fact that, not only did Ashkan reject the implantation, he didn't come out of it unscathed.

"So what is to happen to him?" Reza was asked, partly relieved her boy was not going to see deadly battle, but the look in her husband's eyes forebode something more ominous.

"He is not fit for Astartes...mostly those who do not make it can serve as chapter serfs or scribes."

"Is he going to be either?"

The older man looked at his wife. "He...is not fit for either duty...he...he is...not stable."

Reza was mortified. "Is he going to be alright?"

"I don't know."

Ashkan Tahrik had resigned his fate to assisting his Mother's business as a jeweler in Prospero. He was normal by all appearances, and his good looks made him the subject of most young maidens' infatuation. But speaking to him for longer periods of time would reveal the darkness beneath his demeanor and little by little his admirers disappeared. He _was_ , however, of noble birth, and no one dared speak ill of Galil Tahrik's only son. He was a descendant of tribal leaders, scholars and scientists after all.

Galil was not ready to give up on his oldest child.

He was a man of logic and science. A hard-working scholar by all accounts. He was one of the most industrious and bright minds in Prospero, and when they asked him if he had wanted to be involved in a secret project, which he later found out to be the development of Astartes, he could not find it in his heart to say no.

At one point he had almost become an Adeptus Mechanicus.

That was until he decided to have a family instead, and push his dreams aside. They had allowed him to continue working with them, in a more minor role. He had the best of both worlds and he was quite happy with that.

Now, this.

Ashkan's body was mostly intact, with minor visible defects but it was his mind was severely lost. The young Tahrik was a born psyker, and was laden with potential when the Thousand Sons first tested him. He had the build, the intellect, and the abilities to make a great warrior. But a year and a half into the process he had transformed physically and mentally, and not in a good way. Most who had worked on him hypothesized that his psyker abilities had interacted with the process. Slowly his mind and body had started to go, and there was no changing it. They had no choice but to release him.

Countless nights Galil researched, pondered, theorized on what had gone wrong and how he could reverse it. He had poured over materials non-stop. But knowledge was of no use if he could not test it on an actual subject.

"Are you going to bed soon, Daddy?"

The older Tahrik looked up from the book he was reading. Karimah, his younger child was standing by the doorway of his study, her hand clutching her favorite worn out copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

She was a mirror image of her brother. Even sharing the exact psyker potential that he had.

An idea crossed his weary mind.

Karimah stirred as she felt a weight across her waist. She mumbled incoherently as she reprimanded her Tutelary. Seshat had a habit of sleeping where he wasn't supposed to, although she never thought her pup was this heavy.

 _Do Tutelaries even grow?_

She stirred as her half-asleep eyes noted the object around her waistline.

It was a muscular red arm.

"My Lord..." she spoke through a yawn as she turned over to her right, seeing the bearer of said appendage. "What brings you this early?"

By some miracle of Terra her tiny bed didn't collapse under his weight.

Nor could she fathom how the two of them would even fit in it.

By the time she made a 180, she realized she wasn't even in her bedroom.

Or on the Photep.

Her eyes narrowed at the man sleeping peacefully beside her. He appeared as though he wasn't even really in slumber.

"You can stop pretending now." she grumbled under her breath as she pressed her index finger to the tip of his nose. "I know what you're up to."

The Primarch opened his solitary eye. "Whatever are you talking about?" he mumbled as he pushed her inquiring finger away from his face with his mind.

"Didn't you have enough last night?"

"Enough of what?" he leaned in closer to her face as he planted a tiny kiss on her mouth.

"You know what." she said, eyes still half closed but her lips smiling. She reached out to him, pulling him closer to return the favor.

"It's never enough." he laughed throatily as he accepted her kiss. He turned towards her, holding her face as he deepened his oral invasion.

"I don't know how you can kiss me when I have morning breath."

"I have morning breath too...ergo that cancels it out...besides, it takes no effort to banish it with a word."

"Must you always be so logical?"

"Must you always play hard to get?"

"I am not."

"Does that mean you will yield to my demands?"

"When have I not?"

"Shall I enumerate..."

Karimah silenced him with her lips against his. She moved closer to the primarch as she tucked her arms under his and pressed her body against him.

"There's a naked Primarch in my bed." she said thoughtfully as she leaned her head towards his bare chest.

"Correction. There's a naked Remembrancer in mine." he said as he rested his chin atop her head. "You forget whose quarters you are in."

"Last I checked I was in my own." she lifted her head to meet his eye whose colors played in mischief. "Until I was taken away without proper warning."

"My bed is more comfortable than yours."

"That I cannot contest." she spoke softly as cuddled against him. "And by the way I am not naked."

"Under that slip of yours, you are." he nuzzled into her hair. "Since when have you taken to wearing nothing under it, hmmm? What if my legion bursts upon your quarters without warning?"

"They are immune to the pinings of the flesh." she reasoned.

"But their Primarch is not."

"No he isn't..." she said as allowed her hand to explore him. She pushed her lower half against his. Through her cotton nightgown she could feel his hardened manhood against her soft belly. "Luckily for him, neither am I."

A corner of his mouth lifted as she moved her hand to rest over it. "Here you are accusing me of not being content with last night..."

"I was asking...not accusing." she smiled as she rubbed his shaft lightly. She moved forward to kiss him. The Primarch cupped her face as he met her lips with his. "Besides, I didn't say I was content..."

Magnus laughed at her confession. He never does tire of kissing her, no matter that they had done so thoroughly less than eight hours ago.

Her hands explored his undressed form, touching him slowly as though she had never laid hands on him before, tracing every naked inch of his body. The Crimson King telepathically moved the sheet between them downwards, all the while lifting the hem of her night gown up. He filled his hands with her firm buttocks and pushed her naked crotch against his erection. She pulled away from kissing him and climbed atop him just as he adjusted to lay flat on his back.

"I like the view from down here." he spoke as the loose neckline of her sleeping attire slid off her shoulder, revealing the top mounds of her breasts. Her nipples perky outlines strained against the soft, flimsy fabric. The Primarch reached over to rub them through her clothing.

She wasn't quite awake yet, her long, raven hair was tousled carelessly around her shoulders, cascading all the way down to her waist. Her amber eyes were somewhat drowsy, and her lips were slightly parted as small sounds came from her as he continued to massage her breasts.

He knew that look all too well, and he enjoyed every minute he could admire it.

"Mmmmm...I like the view from up here too." she said through her ragged breath. She maneuvered herself so she was straddling him, holding on to his tense member as she rubbed herself against it.

The Primarch growled as her soft, moist flesh teased his length.

"Are you just going to taunt me?" he swallowed as his lower abdomen tightened. "You know how easy it would be for me to make you get on it with a mere thought."

"It would be." she bit her lip as she continued to slide against him. "But you won't."

"Why not?"

"Because that's not a challenge." she smirked as she slowly guided him into her. "You despise not being challenged."

"You know me all too well, Habibti." Magnus stiffened as her warm, moist orifice embraces him. His hands found their way to her hips, gently pushing her down to take him all in.

"Thrones..." she moaned softly as her palms pressed against his chest, her nails nearly digging at him.

"Ride your king..." he commanded as his fingers clenched around the flesh of her thighs.

Her head nodded gently as she started with the rocking motions, moving back and forth in a slow, sensual rhythm. She ground her hips against him, pushing him deeper and deeper into her. Her moans got louder as her movements allowed the shaft of his cock to rub against her clit. She gyrated, squeezing him tightly as she bucked.

The Crimson King watched, in a pleasant haze. He could feel her hands feeding him with sensations to amplify his pleasure. He returned the favor, allowing currents of tingling delight pulse from his fingers to her heated body. She cried out, acknowledging that he was increasing her gratification by doing such.

Magnus squeezed her thighs before sliding his hands over her buttocks. He slapped a cheek of it, eliciting a brief yelp from her. She began to ride him quicker, thrashing wildly as the prickle of carnal pleasure enveloped her. He moved to hold her waist, tightening his grip as his climax built up from where their bodies met. Karimah bit her lip hard as she clawed his chest, stifling a cry of pure ecstasy in her throat.

"Magnus..." she murmured as an intense climax rocked every fiber of her body. The Primarch felt her lower lips grip him hard, a tide of her feminine essence release itself upon him on him as she whimpered. She shuddered while her motions slowed down.

"Al...most there..." he said as he lifted his hips to go deeper into her. Her nether regions were already sensitive and throbbing from her current state and his pushing into her intensified it.

Karimah squealed when he flipped her over and started nailing here on the mattress. His massive hands gripped her hips, thrusting into her slick entrance as his manhood throbbed with excitement. He lifted her pelvis for better access as he pounded her mercilessly, the remembrancer no longer knowing where an orgasm ended and a new buildup began. By the time he came and spilled into her she could no longer hear her own voice from her delighted screaming.

Magnus rolled over as his breath left him. He was covered in sweat and his entire body tingled from the whole experience. He turned to her exhausted figure and wrapped his arms around her still dressed form.

Their noisy breathing filled the room for a short period of time. The Primarch spooned against her, holding her as close as he physically could.

"Do you ever worry if this will all end?" she piped up after a long stretch of silence.

The Crimson King held her tighter. "Why such morbid thoughts?"

Karimah turned around to face him. Her index finger started tracing the outlines of his handsome face. "I don't know. It's just...I have this feeling that something is going to go all wrong."

"Here I thought you said divination was not one of your strong suits."

"It isn't..." she sighed. "Intuition perhaps...then again I always worry thinking of you facing the greenskin when we get to Ullanor."

"Does it bring back memories?" he asked, referring to her deceased spouse.

"Somewhat." she sighed. "You know when they returned bearing news that Marcus died, there was not enough of him to bury."

"You loved him." he stated matter-of-factly.

"Marcus was my first love." she smiled bittersweetly. "He was a wonderful man."

"He must be to deserve your affection."

"I would like to see the necklace with the ruby scarab please?"

Karimah reached into the display case to retrieve the item and handed it to the young man in uniform who asked for it. "It's one of our rarest pieces." she smiled proudly. "We made only a limited number."

He was tall and handsome, with the brightest blue eyes and short, deep blonde hair. Dressed in his military regalia, she recognized him as an officer of the Imperial Army.

"You made this yourself?" he smiled.

"Oh no no... I have no such skill." she laughed. "Our artisans do...I just sell them."

"With a smile as lovely as yours I bet you sell plenty of them." he teased as he looked briefly at her after inspecting the jewelry.

She did not blush as he expected her reaction to be.

In fact...she looked puzzled, her shapely brows raised.

Her expression then turned to one of being vaguely unimpressed.

Marcus Aviola turned red at his failed attempt at flirting with the pretty young Prosperan. "I'm sorry, that's got to be the cheesiest pick-up line you've ever heard."

A corner of her mouth lifted. "Cheesy...but not the cheesiest." she reassured. "I've heard many times worse."

"I bet you get those a lot."

"You sound like you enjoy betting, officer."

Marcus was speechless.

Karimah laughed at the confusion on his features. "If you wanted to ask me out for coffee, all you had to do was ask nicely."

"Who's nicely?"

She scrunched her face at him.

"My name is Marcus."

"I am Karimah."

That was the first of their many encounters.

The Imperial Army had landed at Prospero to converge with the Thousand Sons. A nearby planetary system was set for conquest, later determined to have a more advanced military capability than what was initially reported. The Thousand Sons were more than glad to be of assistance.

"What happened?" Marcus had asked when he saw the bruises and track marks on Karimah's arms and chest when he had first seen her undressed. "Are you..."

"It's nothing." she downplayed her injuries. "I have a malady...it's for my treatment."

"Who's hurting you?"

"Nobody is hurting me, Marcus." she stressed. "I am ill. They are testing me."

And that was all he could get out of her.

For years that was what she had told herself as well. That one night Galil Tahrik looked at his daughter and decided she was going to be his guinea pig in finding a cure for Ashkan was the beginning. The blood tests, the drug administrations, the implantations. All she knew was that she was helping her father find an answer.

"We need to help your brother." Galil reminded her when she would refuse another finger prick. "You love Ashkan don't you?"

"Yes."

"Just one more time, my child."

It was like that at least once a week, for at many years. Karimah endured many tests and experiments. She would cry in secret, reminding herself that it was for her beloved sibling. She had kept her silence, for this was something her mother and brother would not know. She was allowed to tell no one, and had found herself speaking to her dog Seshat.

"I hope we find a cure soon, Seshat." she would say as she caress her Corgi's soft coat. "I want to help Ashkan get better."

Galil was a man on a mission. Once in a great while he would sneak his daughter in the laboratory to conduct experiments on her. The tech-priests trusted him greatly and suspected nothing. Karimah was agreeable and terrified. But she could not say no, knowing that she had the potential to help her brother. Some days she would develop side effects and adverse reactions, at times becoming deathly ill. The hospitals would chalk it up to viruses, and her father's lies about how she had the symptoms convinced them she was nothing more than a sickly teenager.

Almost a decade after it all began and the older Tahrik had no answers.

One night he suddenly did.

"I can help you cure your son."

"How is that possible? I have searched for answers for years."

"You have not known me at that time."

"Can you truly offer me a cure? Is there some poultice I need to make?"

"Your concoctions are a joke." the being spoke. "I will show you what I can do now. I will collect my due later."

"What if I cannot afford you? I am a noble but..."

"I can assure you it will be a fair trade. I do not ask for the impossible."

"What if it is something I am not willing to give up?"

The sentient being laughed derisively. "Oh but you already gave part of it up, I'm sure you won't miss the rest."

Galil shook his head as he lifted it from his study desk.

 _Was it all a dream?_

Before him a single blue feather rested.

As the days passed, he noted subtle changes in his son. Slowly, carefully, his mind started to clear. As though the darkness and instability within him started to ebb away.

He had been so distracted by the changes in Ashkan that he didn't notice the other things that were happening to Karimah.

Her scars from his manipulation and experimentation slowly started to heal. Heal faster than they normally would. At some point they had completely disappeared as though nothing occurred.

Her psyker abilities also began to increase.

His wife had enrolled Karimah in an advanced school for Psykers in the heart of Tizca. She had started manifesting abilities far advanced compared to her brother. She excelled in her class. Ashkan was his normal jovial self again. He had been able to take over the business without his mother's assistance.

Fate was starting to smile on Galil Tahrik and his family.

Until that one day.

"How the Astartes are able to do this without falling asleep puzzles me."

"They can hear you, you know."

Karimah giggled as her best friend, Lisetta hushed her. The two of them sat next to each other on ceremonial mats in their meditation class. Their instructor was giving them a lesson on ascending to Enumerations.

"Maybe you can float out of your body and check on Marcus." Lisetta snickered as she sent the telepathic message to her friend.

"Tempting thought." she replied mentally. "Perhaps I should. See if he's flirting with his female shipwright."

On instruction she closed her eyes, listening to the words of their Astartes mentor. Truth be told she was getting rather bored of this class and she was certain she was going to nod off before she could understand the enumerations.

When Karimah opened her eyes she was no longer in their classroom.

She was home.

In her father's study. He was by himself but she could hear him speak.

Can he see her? Or sense her perhaps? Galil Tahrik was not a psyker by any means.

"What would you want of my daughter?"

"Your daughter's future suits well with my intentions."

She saw no one, and yet it appeared her father was speaking to someone across from him.

"I did not agree to this."

"Need I remind you of what we agreed upon? I do not like being cheated, Galil Tahrik." the other voice sounded like an echo from another world. "As of now, she is already benefiting from our deal. Her powers are magnified. Her knowledge is rich and continuously growing."

Karimah stepped closer to her father. He did not seem to notice her presence.

"Karimah has always been that way."

"Is she now?" laughed the other speaker. "Perhaps she is. However, I gave you my word. Your son is back to his normal, pre-mutated self. Whatever poison you implanted on his body is untraceable at this point. You don't think I know the reason you sacrificed your precious little girl's health was because of your screw up that damaged your son?"

"Lies!"

"Convince yourself if it suits you." the voice laughed again. "Now you keep your end of the bargain. "

"You cannot have my daughter!"

"You should have thought of that before you poisoned her with your experimentation."

"Karimah is better now."

"All because of my intervention. A deal's a deal...her soul belongs to me now."

Karimah frowned as she started to back away. The being began to materialize before her father but he was not reacting at all.

A blue, feathered monstrosity.

She screamed.

When she looked down at her arms they started to tighten, turning into a bluish-purple hue, claws starting to replace her fingernails. She scrambled madly out of her father's study, not knowing where to go or where to turn before the rest of the world turned black once again.

"Are you alright?"

When she opened her eyes her instructor was crouched before her, surrounded by her fellow students. They were looking strangely at her.

"I'm okay...I just..." she sat up, noting she was covered in sweat.

Did she fall asleep during meditation? Was it all a dream?

Karimah sat cross-legged on the meditation mat, trying to figure in her head what had transpired.

She felt a tingling in her arms. The hair raising in the back of her neck. When she looked down she her skin contracting and becoming cyanotic.

She bolted out of the classroom and off into the streets of Tizca.

"What happened?"

"You have to take me out of here." she cried as Marcus held her. "That...that thing is coming for me..."

"What thing?"

"It's some blue, demon spirit...I don't know but it said it was going to take my soul...and that I belong to it...my own Father traded me to save my brother..."

"Calm down...it's alright." he embraced her, his blue eyes meeting her tearful ones. Marcus kissed her reassuringly on the top of her head. "Do you want to go to Terra with me?"

Karimah was stumped.

"The ship leaves in tomorrow night." he explained. "Maybe you can leave a note to your Mom or something. But I can protect you over there. Maybe it won't get to you when you are that far."

The young Prosperan nodded as she wiped the tears away.

Needless to say the Remembrancer was astounded when they set landfall in Ullanor.

The sons of Dorn had created a landscape befitting the greatest gathering of the warriors of the Imperium. Considering it had only been a raging battlefield months before, its' transformation was nothing short of breathtaking.

She was also relieved that Magnus had not needed to see battle against the Greenskin.

There were not very many Remembrancers allowed on the grounds of Ullanor. She had been one of the fortunate few to set foot on it. Magnus had joined his brothers, and the captains had been with their respective companies. Karimah had witnessed one of the biggest gatherings of Astartes in the millenia. It was a once in a lifetime event, and she was glad she could take part in it.

They held festivities during the night time, a week-long celebration of the triumph at Ullanor and the announcement of Horus Lupercal as Warmaster. Karimah had not seen Magnus much as he was with his brothers, understandably so. She had held her own with her fellow Remembrancers and Sergeant Faht-hi who had most graciously escorted her the entire time she was there.

The one night she was allowed access to the evening feast, she had dressed to the nines. She had not seen her Primarch for days and while he spoke to her telepathically, finally physically joining him made her somewhat excited.

Karimah donned an exquisite evening gown in a deep crimson silk. It dipped rather low in the front, and exposed her back from the sheer material. Its flowing skirts made her look like she was gliding on the ballroom floor. She wore her hair up in a loose bun, tendrils falling to frame her face. She used gold jewelry to accent her features; earrings, bracelets and a necklace with a scarab in the middle.

She turned more than a few heads when she entered the celebration hall with her fellow Remembrancers. One of those happened to be of her King.

"Who are you trying to entice, m'Lady?" he casually greeted her as she bowed to acknowledge him. His tone was jovial, but beneath his cool she could feel a very slight excited tension.

"The most eligible of Primarchs of course." she jested as he kissed her hand.

"I'm afraid Sanguinius is already spoken for." he smiled knowingly at her.

"Then I shall settle for second best?"

"Roboute Guilliman is not here either." he laughs as he escorts her to the banquet.

She sticks her tongue at him briefly as she set about getting food and taking notes to write later. "There was a rather fetching Emperor's Children captain making conversation with me earlier."

"Raphael Carrion?" he asked as she took bites off the hors d'oeuvres. "Not a bad choice...I hear he's good with his sword."

"Get out of my head, m'Lord." she lectured as she helped herself to the feast. "You do not know what you're going to see in there."

He laughed as he ushered her to a nearby table to sit. "Other than your worry about salacious rumors spreading about you and me I don't see anything I do not like."

"Magnus." she hushed him as a familiar figure approached them.

"M'Lady!" Horus Lupercal seemed to recognize her as she sat at one of the banquet tables. She raised to offer his pleasantries as Horus too it upon himself to kiss her hand.

"Radiant as ever." he complimented her as his gaze shifted to the Crimson King and the Remembrancer. "I hope I am not interrupting anything?"

"Not at all, Warmaster Horus." she greeted him his new title.

"I'm still Horus Lupercal...just with an extra salutation." he spoke as he straightened up.

"Lord Horus, may we get some picts?" Myrrha Rahbari injected herself into the conversation.

"Yes, yes of course."

Horus sat at the Remembrancers' table, entertaining their questions and posing for picts. Karimah did her dues as a remembrancer and recording their conversation. Magnus sat a few chairs away, on the same table, sipping from his wine glass as his vision wandered casually over to her while his mind conveyed what his lips could not.

 _That evening dress flatters you, Habibti._

 _Magnus, the other psykers can probably hear you._

 _I have blocked everyone in close radius, unless my Father decided he wanted to listen in._

 _I doubt the Emperor would have any interest in these things, m'Lord._

 _True. However at some point I do need to introduce you to him._

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of more Primarchs to which the Remembrancers have flocked over to. Karimah nodded to him as she went about her business. The red Primarch tried to dismiss the stirring within him as he watched her exchange words with Fulgrim.

 _We will have our own private time later,_ he sent a message telepathically. She turned to him and smiled warmly, acknowledging she had received it.

"Is this where you stood last week?" she said as she peered over the balcony overlooking the now empty parade grounds. He walked up behind her, taking her in his massive embrace. She held on to his arms, relishing his proximity as she had not physically touched him since they arrived in Ullanor.

He leaned forward, pulling her close. "Yes. This very spot was where I stood with my brothers. Angron to my left, Mortarion to my right."

"Horus is warmaster now." she said thoughtfully as she leaned against his strong chest. Magnus was in his ceremonial outfit today, ditching his armor for something more comfortable.

"He has bigger burdens to carry on with the Crusades." he murmured as he planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"He does..." she grew quiet as they watched the bright, starlit sky. "Would you ever want to be Warmaster?"

She felt him bury his face in the softness of her hair. "I am not a Warlord...you know that." he murmurs. "Knowledge is all I seek in these places that we conquer. I would rather drown in books than bolters."

She looked up at him and smiled. "It's what I like about you."

He bent down to place a light kiss on her lips. "Really? And here I thought it was for my dashing good looks."

"That doesn't hurt either." she laughed as she turned about to embrace him. "Hopefully these crusades will end soon."

"I hope so too." he holds her tight. "It would be good to read all these wonderful things you remembrancers have collected from our voyages."

Karimah paused before adding. "Would that mean you won't need us anymore?"

"Perhaps." he looked down at her, pulling the pins out of her hair and letting it fall softly onto her shoulders. "That does not mean I will let you leave me to run off to a new adventure."

"Bummer." she laughed as she took the hair pieces from his grasp. "Are you implying I have wait on you hand and foot in Prospero as your scribe?"

"I have a better idea." he leans to whisper in her ear.

She slaps his arm at his gentle insinuation, laughing hard as she did. Magnus pulled her close, kissing her more intimately now as he held her tight. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she pulled off her biomancy skills to meet his height to a reasonable degree.

"You're getting very good at this." he says in between kisses.

" I have an excellent teacher." she smiles before leaning in to take his lips again.

Magnus' hands began exploring her waist, her back, her hips. The gown she wore was silk and lace and clung to her every curve. He had found the thigh high slit on the side and slid his hand underneath to caress her leg.

"Magnus..." she mumbled as she felt his fingers tug at her garters. "We can't..."

"It's not that time of the month is it...?"

"We're in public..."

"There is no one here."

"But that balcony door..."

"Is locked." he reassured her. "You don't suppose I'd sneak out here with you without making sure of our privacy?"

"You..."

"Yes me."

Magnus slid his hand through the neckline, inserting it to cup her naked breast beneath. She moaned as his hands caressed her chest and between her legs simultaneously. His breath was warm on the skin of her neck as he dipped down to nibble on it. He pressed her against the balcony where he has stood but a week before.

"There's a crack..." she noticed as she leaned against it.

"Angron I suspect." he whispered as he sucked on the flesh between her neck and shoulders. "Standing next to me gave him severe headaches."

"Your poor brother..." she whimpered as his hand made short work of her panties. He backed off slightly before going down on his knees. She bit her hand to stifle a scream when she felt his hands between her thighs.

"I can't talk right now...I'm hungry." he spoke before bending down to taste between her legs. She cried out, biting her hand in an effort to not make a sound as he enthusiastically licked her tender, warm slit. Magnus ate her intensely, savoring her essence as it spilled down his tongue. He felt her hands make their way to the thickness of his red mane, pulling the strands with every pleasurable stroke his tongue flicked upon her.

"Magnus...I'm going to..."

He rose quickly, giving her one last long, lick before he positioned her to where his shaft was hard and throbbing. She burst almost instantaneously when he plunged into her. She cried out in blissful agony as he slammed into her in a frenzied pace. Karimah held onto the balcony as Magnus thrusted so hard she could she swear she lifted off the ground.

"Habibti..." he groaned into her ear as he kept with his motions. His hands gripped her hips tightly as he felt her clamp on his manhood. He felt her shudder as she came hard, the walls of her womanhood tightening around him. Her fingernails buried deeply unto the flesh of his hands. He held his breath as his own climax brewed in his lower abdomen. With a final thrust he came, pouring unto her womb the seeds of his pleasure. He whispered terms of endearment in their native Prosperan tongue into her ear as he savored the tingling sensations from his release.

He held on to her as she collapsed into his arms, panting and drained. He sat, cradling her in his arms as she tried to adjust her clothing.

They lingered for a while, breaths slowing down as they recovered from their high.

"You will be the death of me." she nuzzled her face on his strong chest as he held her tight.

"The feeling is mutual." he kissed the top of her head as he caressed her hair.

"We need to go back to the party." she said, the reluctance all to evident in her voice.

"I know...the things we have to put up with..." he mused.

He assisted her as she stood. They made their way back to the doors. He allowed her to exit first. There was still a good amount of people celebrating. Karimah forgot she was still holding Magnus' hand when they entered.

"I'll see you in a short while." he says as he leans over to whisper. He stole a quick kiss on her cheek before he let her go.

She hoped no one had seen the Primarch bestow that on her, as she didn't want any unwarranted attention. She mentally scolded him and herself for carelessness, and hoped that no one had seen their momentary display of affection.

From a short distance a pair of eyes watched them in observation. They caught but a short glimpse of their activity but it was enough to understand its significance.

Constantin Valdor noted it all.

He wasn't sure what to make of it.

But it was something he committed to memory.


End file.
